Whose Manga Is It, Anyway?
by Writergirl118
Summary: The fascinating story of two giddy fangirls who somehow suck themselves into the middle of Fruits Basket. NOT your average OC story. Pairings to be determined. It's a secret, silly.
1. Chapter 1

Note: Okay, this idea follows along with the idea of my very first fanfiction, When Worlds Collide, only with Fruits Basket—two teenage girls with a major obsession get the shock of a lifetime when they find themselves in the world of their favorite Anime/Manga. But is it really all they ever dreamed of and more…? Cowritten with MrsBoogerSnooger.

Disclaimer: Come now, I obviously don't own Fruits Basket. For one thing, I can't draw worth anything! Anyhoo, onward to let the story speak for itself…

**Whose Manga Is It, Anyway?**

**Chapter One: Witchcraft**

"**Okay, okay, it's finally late enough, come ON!" I squealed. My best friend, Izzy, and I had been hiding out in the tent in my backyard, clutching our Kyo cat plushies for dear life, waiting for the lights in the house to go off so that we could sneak into the woods behind my house and do something somewhat ridiculous but utterly exciting. We wanted to try to cast a "Find Love" spell, out of a witchcraft book that Izzy had brought over with her. **

"**Hang on, I can't find the rose quartz…" Izzy mused, thumbing through the various things in her suitcase.**

"**Just grab your whole spell box and chuck it in there for now!" I ordered. We had quite a walk ahead of us to get to the spot I had in mind. Sighing, Izzy did as I'd said and threw pretty much the contents of her entire spell box into the bag she was loading up for this spell.**

"**I'm a bit nervous…" I whispered as we unzipped the tent and climbed out into the quiet night. "I've never tried a spell before."**

**Izzy giggled at me. "The last time I did this spell, all it got me was a psycho… but this time we're going to do it right. We've got real rose quartz and actual seawater for the saltwater."**

**As we passed my garden, I plucked the best and prettiest of my red roses. "Not to mention a rose grown with as much love as a girl like me can give," I mused, fingering the petals.**

"**Oh, look," Izzy said, laughing. "I threw Kyo in here on accident… and your copy of book 16 of the manga…"**

**I glanced at her spell bag, and laughed nervously with her. "That's quite all right… just knowing we've got the Kyo plush makes me feel safer… oooh imagine if he was the one we conjured up for ourselves…"  
**

"**We're not conjuring someone up," Izzy disagreed. "We're just summoning love to come into our lives."**

**I sighed. "I know. But there just aren't any guys as sexy as Kyo here in the boring real world."**

"**Believe me," she said, "I know."**

**The rest of the way, we giggled about our insane fangirl crush on Kyo (Or sometimes Kyou) Sohma of Fruits Basket, our favorite manga and anime series.**

"**Tohru definently doesn't deserve him," Izzy stated determidely.**

"**I dunno," I said. "I think they'd be all right together… he needs her more than Yuki does, I think."**

**We continued the conversation until we got to the moonlit creek with just a patch of land I'd had in mind for our spell. "You ready?" Izzy asked, pulling out the ingredients with a grave look on her face.**

"**As ready as I'll ever be," I muttered, snatching the Kyo plush and hugging it for dear life. I was a bit pathetically afraid of the dark, and I was getting fairly freaked out. Izzy started to pull out the things we needed, muttering to herself as she did so.**

"**Two pieces of pink cloth… you've got the rose… here's the lavender oil… and ah-ha, two pieces of rose quartz!"**

"**Don't forget one Kyo plush and one copy of Furuba number 16!" I teased, pulling the book out, opening it to one of our favorite depictions of Kyo, and setting it out there just to be stupid. **

"**I dunno if we should leave that out… I don't want it to get wet or mess up the spell somehow."**

**I just looked at her blankly and we both giggled a bit more, dabbing the lavender oil behind our ears and wrapping our rose petals in the cloth as the book said. "Ready?" I asked, holding up my rose quartz.**

"**Ready," Izzy said, dipping hers in the saltwater and beginning to intone from the book.**

"**I cleanse and infuse this stone for my energy alone. Bring me the love I desire by the will of our higher power," we said in hushed voices together. I, for one, felt a bit silly, but also strangely afraid. Either I was insane, or the rose quartz was shining a bit more brightly than it should.**

**We moved to place the quartz in the cloth, and my hands shook as I tied my red ribbon around the package. **

"**Aphrodite, your power of love divine…" we began, but I stopped still in awe. "I...Izzy… th-th-the… manga… book…"**

**Although no wind was present, the pages were flipping rapidly and the book rose a good foot above the ground.**

"**Mini-tornado?" Izzy said weakly, staring as well. "Should we finish the spell…?"**

**I shook my head slowly, to find that my two pigtails were being picked up in the strange wind, an amazing force tugging me towards the book. Curiosity getting the best of me, I leaned forth to try and grab it from the wind (I also didn't want my expensive book getting thrown into the water by a freak wind). Izzy, I realized, was doing the same. Our hands hit the cover at the same time, and a great, pink flash of light blinded me for a few moments.**

"**Oof," Izzy whimpered, presumably from our impact with the ground. She was standing very shakily, looking around with wide eyes.**

"**Oh no," I said, following her gaze. "I've lost it… isn't that… but…"**

**For just a few yards away, unmistakably, was Shigure Sohma's house.**

"**I think we hit our heads… or perhaps we've been knocked out and I'm only dreaming…" I said, falling into my habit of nervously speaking a lot. Izzy was blinking rapidly and shaking slightly.**

"**Oh lord," she said suddenly. "We're in our pajamas!"**

**I blushed and attempted to somehow cover up my pink short shorts and tank top, thanking the currently present stars for the fact that I'd been wearing a bra. No matter what was going on, I didn't want my breasts flopping to the world.**

"**What are we going to do!? I don't speak Japanese… maybe we've just somehow ended up in Japan and that's not really Shigure's house, just one that looks like it!"**

**I felt like I might cry. "Izzy-boo… I wanna go hoooooooome!" I wailed, flailing my arms like a child. "My butt hurts!"**

**Completely spontaneously, we both burst into laughter, laughing until tears came out of our eyes.**

End note: Well, ta-dah! Chapter one is complete! I know the Fruits Basket characters aren't actually present yet, but don't worry, they will be soon enough! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and can look forward to the next one! Reviews, please?


	2. OMG OMGKYO KYO KYO!

Note: Hey, it's chapter two already… This is really thrilling and exciting, because in this chapter we're going to have our first interaction with the fabu characters of Fruits Basket! Please note this is loosely based upon aspects from both the anime and the manga. Basically whatever fits best to be included in the story goes.

Disclaimer: MrsBoogerSnooger and I humbly and sadly admit a lacking of ownership over the wonderful Fruits Basket, and sadly therefore, also of Kyo. But the plot is MINE, I tell you, MINE!!!!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Two: OMG OMG—KYO KYO KYO!!!**

"**Well well, what's this?" an all too familiar voice suddenly intoned from above, waking us from a sleep we'd somehow fallen into. "It seems there are two sleeping, scantily dressed high school girls in my front yard, while the others are all away at school…"**

"**Oh, Shi—"**

**I launched myself on Izzy, clamping a hand over her mouth to keep her from finishing her words. "My thoughts exactly, dear, but it needn't be voiced," I said in a quick whisper, so that if he happened to overhear, he'd think she had been about to use a curse word. Or so I hoped, anyway.**

**Shigure stared at us, or more truthfully, our lack of clothing. It was, after all, the middle of summer.**

"**What to do, what to do…" he mused. I felt a shiver run down my spine. He was the show's pervert, after all. Who really knew what he would do?**

**Izzy put on her cute face and batted her eyebrows. "Oh, kind sir, we're lost!" she began, nudging me to look cute. I stood up in the most adorable possible manner and fell quickly at his feet, both begging and pretending to be exhausted. "We're just poor orphans… twin sisters." We had no resemblance, but of course we could easily be fraternal twins. "We were horribly mistreated in the orphanage and we ran away." She had a quite developed pout placed on her full lips, and signaled to me behind her back in a way which I took to mean "He's obviously a sucker for orphans; look at Tohru.". **

"**Please, sir, we need a place to stay… anywhere that's a roof over our heads until we can find jobs and take care of ourselves," she said, taking his hand and looking imploringly into his eyes. **_**Please work, **_**I thought. How utterly embarrassing if it didn't. **

"**Well my house is quite full," Shigure mused. "But I suppose you could stay with Tohru…"**

**I could see the cogs of his mind going "High school girls, high school girls, all for me, high school girls!!!" already, and knew that most likely he would not reject us. But I decided it couldn't hurt to faint. I placed a gentle, "feminine" hand upon my forehead and gently sighed and fell over.**

"**Oh, sister!" Izzy exclaimed, catching my ploy. "We've not eaten in days!" I couldn't see her, but I knew she was giving a sad and worried expression behind thick eyelashes. **

"**I'll have to talk to the others before making a final decision," he said, his voice gentle. "But of course you're welcome to come inside and have something to drink. I'll call for some food."**

"**Oh, thank you THANK you!" Izzy's voice exclaimed by my ear, and I hoped she remembered to bow slightly in a cute manner. **

**Next I knew, my body was being lifted, and from the way he somehow managed to hold me near my butt, I knew it was Shigure. **_**Ew ew ew ew… Izzy you owe me! **_**I thought to myself while trying to keep my face composed and pale.**

**Water was tipped down my throat, and I knew it was time to feign awakening. "Ooooh," I moaned softly, letting my eyes flicker open. "What's… going on?" I asked in a quiet, dazed done. The quiet part was certainly not difficult for me. I was naturally a very shy, reserved person around strangers, even this one, who I knew very much about.**

**Izzy looked as though she was battling a giggle, but she managed to look concerned. "You fainted, sister," she said sadly. "But kind… this kind man here has graciously offered to feed us!"**

**I battled down a snort of laughter and instead put on my grateful face. "Thank you so very much."**

**Izzy suddenly slapped her forehead. "How dreadfully rude of us! I'm Isabel and this is Melony! We should have introduced ourselves at once, how terribly dreadful." I was amazed by her ability to keep a straight face. I could see in her eyes that what she really wanted was to stop having to avoid using Shigure's name. **

"**It's all right of course, you were terribly distressed. I'm Shigure Sohma, and it's a pleasure to meet you!"**

**I could see the chorus of "High school girls!" in his eyes and had a complete urge to run for the hills. Izzy had a look of maddened enjoyment on her face. She was having entirely too much fun pulling this elaborate joke on him. But we DID need a place to stay.**

"**I've called for some food, but it will be a while. If you girls want to shower or anything, we've got plenty of things you can borrow here, if you need." He eyed our outfits, and I blushed despite myself, vowing to never again wear short shorts as pajama bottoms.**

"**That would be wonderful… we had such a hard time getting new clothing at the orphanage… it was terrible…" Izzy said, a mad glint in her eye. She definitely wanted us here at least long enough to meet Kyo. **

"**I… I'd just like… a nap…" I muttered, nervous at the idea of whatever was going on here. Maybe I'd wake up and it would all be a weird, late night pizza induced dream. **

**Shigure smiled an evil smile. "You're welcome to my bed," he said. I felt my cheeks turn the horrid shade of an overripe cherry, and not in a good way. "I'm kidding, kidding!" he assured quickly. "I'll get a blanket and you can rest here on the sofa. And Isabel, I'll show you to the restroom."**

**Izzy skipped off happily after Shigure and I curled up into a ball on the couch, nervous and scared, but also excited. I didn't even feel myself drifting off, but I never saw Shigure bring a blanket… **

**Someone was poking my arm, interrupting a particularly good dream.**

"**Shigure, there's a girl on the sofa!" a disembodied voice called. Kyo's voice! I jolted up, shocked. **

"**What're you doing here?" he asked.**

"**Shigure let us in… my sister and I… we needed a place to stay…" I mumbled.**

"**Don't mumble so much, I can't understand what you're saying!" he spat. I was taken aback. Of course I knew that was how he was, but to have him treat me that way wasn't quite expected. I didn't think myself particularly annoying or bothersome, and about the second set of words he ever said to me were yelling.**

"**You're up!" Izzy suddenly shrieked, coming from somewhere that I estimated to be the kitchen. Her eyes fixated on Kyo and she blushed a bit, taking in his attractive presence there. **

"**Who're you?" he shot at her.**

"**I'm Isabel! I'm Melony here's sister!"**

"**Is that so?" Kyo scoffed, walking away and shaking his head.**

"**Where's Yuki and Tohru?" I whispered, glad for a moment to relax and not keep on a façade for this strange place. **

"**Tohru's in the kitchen making dinner," she whispered back. "And I think Yuki's out at his 'secret base'."**

"**Oooh I wish I could go see it," I mused. I loved gardening with a passion. **

"**Well no promises, but I don't know how long we'll be here. You could get him to take you there."**

**I shook my head. "No more tricks," I whispered ever so softly so that no one would overhear. "I just want to go home."**

"**Go home? Go HOME?!" Izzy said in a frantic whisper. "We are in FRUITS BASKET here! How could you want to go HOME?!"**

**I shrugged. "We don't belong here… we're not a part of this."**

"**But we can be! Don't you see how lucky we are? This is a fangirl's wildest dream!"**

**I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe I like it to stay in my dreams…" I mumbled. Then Yuki walked through the door to look at us with interest. **

"**So this is your sister, Isabel?" he said in that soft voice of his, indicating that they had previously conversed, assumedly while I slept on the couch. His attractiveness, undenied before, seemed so much more real in person. Even though Kyo had always been the object of both of our affections, I found myself blushing from the sheer power of an attractive half smile. **

"**I-I-I'm Melony," I finally managed to stutter, wondering what on earth would happen if I tried to talk to Kyo when fully awake like this.**

"**Yuki Sohma," he said, a pleasant but somewhat fake smile gracing his pale face. "It's pleasant to meet you."**

**I smiled vaguely, avoiding the giggles that surfaced as Izzy raised her eyebrows at me from behind Yuki's sculpted back. **

"**Have you eaten yet? Miss Honda is making some onigiri right now."**

**I shook my head. The idea of food at the moment was about as appealing as the idea of running screaming down the street and finding Akito, then proclaiming my knowledge of the secret and seeing what would happen. Which was, as you may realize, not an appealing or intelligent idea.**

"**I'm starved!" Izzy exclaimed, clearly excited about the idea of eating authentic Japanese food—actually cooked for us by a manga character. I had to admit, this was certainly weird but amazing, though I did wonder how a love spell had caused this to happen. Then again, it had been our first one… **

**Yuki walked off to check on Tohru, and I blinked at Izzy. "This is so…"**

"**Exciting? Amazing! WONDERFUL?!"**

"**Shh!" I hissed. "Not so LOUD!"**

**We started giggling insanely again, that much at least always the norm for us. "I suppose…" I started slowly, "that it can't hurt to enjoy this."**

**And together, linking arms, we pranced towards the kitchen, ready at last to face our adventure, and whatever in entailed…**

End note: Goodness, that chapter was so LONG! But I wanted to get a good amount of the setting up done in here, so we can really burst forth with the action in the next chapter. HURRAH FOR ACTION! Review, please… the button wants you to click it, or it may cry.


	3. Oh the Tangled Webs We Weave

Note: Hey guys, chappie three already! I'm really excited about taking this fic somewhere very interesting… please keep reviewing so that I know what you think! Try to guess the pairings and we'll see if any of you are very intuitive! Thanks SOOO much to everyone who's reviewed so far! I love you all! (in a completely non-scary way)

Disclaimer: Ooooh I WISH I owned Kyo (and the rest of Fruits Basket) but the Kyo plushie I bought for ten dollars on sale will have to suffice (and my collection of the series that is mysteriously missing number 7…). I DON'T OWN FRUITS BASKET!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Three: Oh The Tangled Webs We Weave…**

**Seeing Tohru was certainly strange. After all of the jokes we'd made and teasing we'd done, I felt a bit guilty right from the start. She was so pure and innocent and… well… kind of annoying, actually.**

"**So you escaped from an orphanage? That's so BRAVE!" She shrieked, practically forcing her (delicious) onigiri down our throats. "You can stay here with us… oh I hope that's okay, I mean, I can't invite you, because I don't really live here…"**

"**Stop rambling, I'm tryin' to eat!" **

"**Sorry, Kyo-kun…"**

**I just sort of stared, and Izzy, for once, had nothing witty to say. It was so strange, being here, amongst these characters. Like a dream.**

"**This is wonderful!" Izzy exclaimed, fondling her rice ball.**

**  
Ever so slightly, Yuki smiled as Tohru exclaimed, "Do you really think so?! I mean, I'm sure it's not that great… oh… I'm rambling again," she finished, looking at Kyo's face—annoyed on the surface, but loving just underneath. Seeing that made my heart pang. Oh, if only Kyo would look at ME that way.**

"**Do you like them, Melony-san?" Yuki asked softly, taking in my somewhat blank and dejected stare. I nodded quickly.**

"**It's delicious, Tohru…san," I tried nervously, hoping to get the titled right. Yuki smiled. **

"**You certainly don't seem used to formalities," Shigure's voice said suddenly from right next to my ear. "Where is it you come from?"**

**I scrambled for an answer, pleased when Izzy appeared as randomly as Shigure. "It was a small orphanage, and we'd known everyone since our early childhood. It was mostly a first name basis there, so I apologize for our horrible lack of manners, Shigure-san."**

**I beamed at her, happy for the rescue, and proud of us for having looked up the Japanese titles at one point in our Furuba obsessed lives.**

"**Where did you come from, Shigure?" Yuki asked.**

"**I was about," Shigure replied mysteriously. Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes at him discreetly. **

**Kyo and Tohru had sort of drifted away from the rest of us, having some little conversation of their own. I tilted my head to the side in a peculiar way that I sometimes have, and watched them. Kyo was certainly something, and Tohru never stopped smiling while they spoke… **

"**Yoo-hoo, Melony!" Izzy called, motioning me over. She was pointing very excitedly at the stairs. "Shigure-san said we can at least stay the night, and then he has to talk to Aki—the head of his family!"**

**Resisting the urge to squeal in excitement, I bolted after her and up the stairs, into Tohru's room, which we of course knew how to locate. **

"**Eee-yay!" Izzy squealed, flopping onto Tohru's fluffy pink bed. I smiled and jumped in next to her, taking in the soft sheets. **

"**I love this," I declared happily, petting the sheets. **

"**I only hope that Akito says we're allowed to stay here," Izzy muttered. "What will we do if we aren't? Where can we go?"**

"**Oh, let's not think about that now! I want to EXPLORE!" **

**Now that I was adjusting to where we were, I was really becoming excited and carefree. We were in FRUITS BASKET here! I better get my butt EXCITED! I sprung out of the bed.**

"**Maybe we could chance upon Yuki's secret base," I said softly. "It looked so peaceful in the anime… I wish my garden was that secluded." After a moment of thought, I remembered plants need care and mine were no longer with me. "My BABIES!" I wailed. "Who's going to take care of my plants?!"**

"**Is everything all right up here?" Shigure asked, poking his head in. "Did someone yell something about babies?"**

"**Er, no, everything's fine!" I said, flapping my hand at him in a "all's well" sort of gesture. **

"**We're just exceptionally grateful. How can we ever repay you?" Izzy chortled. **

"**Well, I can think of a few ways…" Shigure mused. "But none of them would be legal."**

**Our mouths flew open at the same time, and then we both giggled. I couldn't resist saying, "Shigure, you perv," in a teasing manner. He shook his head and walked on, leaving us again to our excitement. Suddenly, he popped back in. "I'll be talking with Akito tomorrow. Hopefully he says it's all right for you to get back on your feet here. It'd be like having THREE housekeepers!"**

**I bit my lip to avoid a groan, and Izzy just sort of grinned suggestively at him. When he went off again, I leaned in towards her. "Should you provoke him so?" I whispered. **

"**Provoke? I was just smiling!" **

**I shrugged my shoulders and flopped back into the bed, letting my thoughts drift off into the strange realm between dreams and waking, wondering what sort of things we could explore. **

"**It's getting late," Izzy declared, jolting me from my imagination. "And I'm tired. SHIGURE-SAN!" she called suddenly. When he reappeared yet again, she put on her adorable face. "Do you have anything loose that my sister and I can wear to sleep in? I hate to impose, but it would really be lovely if—"**

**Tohru appeared suddenly, night-clothes in arms. "I thought you might be needing these," she explained, handing them over to us. "I think they're the right sizes, or close enough."**

"**Oh, our Tohru-san," Shigure gushed. "Always so thoughtful."**

"**Oh, it's nothing really," Tohru said, putting a hand behind her head nervously. "I just happened to be thinking, and well, I remembered seeing those there in the closet, so I thought—"**

"**Thank you VERY much, Tohru-san," Izzy cut in, forcefully cutting off Tohru's rambling. "Would the two of you mind leaving us in privacy a moment to see if these fit properly?"**

**Shigure pouted and walked out after Tohru, who stepped so lightly she seemed to float. **

**I tugged the nightgown on, and flitted over to the mirror, naturally stubbing my toe on the end of the dresser. "Ouch, ouch, my TOE!" I whimpered before straightening to look at my reflection. **

"**Oh!" I gasped. Somehow, I looked very different. My eyes and facial features were much the same, but seemed more perfect somehow, perhaps more anime-style. And the nightgown fit so perfectly it was eerie. I looked, to be quite honest, amazing. "I wish I could wear this every day," I said to Izzy, who was trying hers on, and looking quite gorgeous herself. Her messy bun flopped as she hopped up and down. **

"**Ooh it looks GOOD!" she exclaimed, examining herself in the mirror from various angles.**

"**Guess this is why all the anime girls look so darned thin!" I teased, blinking at our reflections. **

"**Or maybe they just never eat anything… speaking of food… I'm kinda thirsty."**

"**Me too. I'll go get us something to drink," I said, tripping a little once again as I headed out the door and to the stairs. The house was a bit eerie, now that the sun was starting to go down. Time had passed so quickly. Now I wasn't so sure I did know where the kitchen was in this crazy place. And stairs in the dark really weren't a good idea for a klutz like me. What if I accidentally fell on Yuki or Kyo? How embarrassing! **

**All of that thinking, of course, provoked me to trip. "Aaah!" I yelled, hooking my toe on something and falling over. Halfway through my fall, someone grabbed my arm and stopped me from hitting the floor.**

"**What're you doing walking around falling this late?" Kyo's voice asked me from the darkness. **

"**W-we were th-thirsty," I mumbled, my heart pounding. The place on my arm where his hand had touched me was burning, as though lit on fire. My cheeks were flushed as well, and I was glad for the darkness's shield. "Uhm, thank you, for, you know… catching me," I whispered carefully, hoping my voice was at least as loud as it seemed to be ringing in my ears. **

"**Sure, whatever," he mumbled, and just like that, was gone. I stumbled my way to the kitchen and got the water glasses, and made my way back up to Izzy to tell her about my first ever thrilling Kyo encounter. **

End note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review for meh, would you? I promise some rising action… I just gotta get some ideas from the muses, who should be responding to my pleas any day now...


	4. Akito Says

Note: YAY FOR CHAPTER FOUR! It's gonna be spiffy, I promise! WHOO! Onward! ((Chocolate induced hyperness)). Thank you SOOO much for the reviews, everyone! I really appreciate it and hope I will continue to hear from you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, sadly. I only wish I did.

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Four: Akito Says**

"**YOU BUMPED INTO KYO ON THE STAIRS?!" Izzy repeated in a harsh, excited whisper. "That's so exciting! I'm so JEALOUS! Oh, do you think he'll fall in love with you?"**

**I laughed. "I highly doubt that. You're most definitely more his type. I'm too… quiet."**

"**And I'm too loud!"**

**We giggled a bit, and I tugged the covers up around me, burrito style. "I'm really quite tired," I said, rolling onto my stomach and breathing in the strange scent of the pillow. **

"**I wonder where Tohru is. This IS her room," Izzy noted suddenly, flopping around a bit. **

"**I dunno…"I mumbled, half asleep already. "And at the moment, I don't much care."**

"**All right, good point," Izzy replied, closing her eyes. "I guess it's time for our first night here, huh?"**

**I nodded. "It's kind of funny. When we arranged for you to come stay a week at my house, I expected us to get into adventures… but this isn't exactly what I had in mind."**

**She smiled and rolled over. "Good night, Melony," she said, frowning slightly as she looked around her. "It's weird… to sleep without the plushies."**

"**Yeah it is. Feels a bit lonely. Of course, if we played our cards right…" I said, wriggling my eyebrows suggestively.**

"**We could sleep with the real thing!" she finished, collapsing into a fit of hushed giggles. I quickly followed suit, and that was the last I remember of that night, so I assume we laughed ourselves to sleep…**

"**Melony-san, wake up," a hushed voice suddenly trilled softly in my ear, tickling with the closeness of it. **

"**Mmmph… already?" I muttered back, still half asleep. My eyes fluttered open slowly and the world re-entered my sight, bright and shining. **

**A small laugh escaped his lips. "It's past noon already, and your sister has been up for hours. She sent me up to tell you that when she's finished in the shower, she wants for you two to go and get some suitable clothing."**

**I sprung out of bed at once, not thinking about my frilly nightgown attire. The idea of shopping was just thrilling! Yuki had to shuffle aside quickly to avoid a full on collision as I rushed past.**

"**Shouldn't you find something to wear?" he asked, smiling. **

"**Oh… right…"**

"**You can borrow something of mine," Tohru said, and I realized she was cleaning just outside. "If it will fit. You are taller than I am, after all. Which is a good thing, of course!" she rambled, giving a bit of a nervous laugh.**

**I gulped, thinking of the short skirt-dress types of things that Tohru often wore, and since I was taller than her, how short they'd be on me. **

"**I'll leave you to it. Have a good day, Melony-san."**

"**You too, Yuki-san," I responded, already thumbing through the drawers.**

"**So girly and innocent," I muttered, leaving through and finally deciding on something I'd never seen featured in the manga or anime—a blue sundress with just a slight bit of lacing, and a nice layered look. I figured it was long enough to still work for my obviously longer legs. **

**I slid it on and somehow it fit like a miracle, much like the nightgown of last night. "Hmm…" I mused, doing a little twirl for myself.**

"**MELONY! HURRY UUUUUUUP!" Izzy called loudly from down the stairs.**

"**Okay okay!" I yelled back, about half as loudly, and dashed down the stairs, nearly falling just before safely touching down on the landing.**

"**You're such a klutz," Izzy teased as I grabbed the nearest wall and held on for dear life until I was sure my momentum for falling was spent. "Come on, let's go!" **

**She grabbed my hand and tugged me towards where our old clothes lay in a heap. "Check your pockets," she ordered.**

**I reached into my pocket and felt a lump of foreign material. Upon pulling it out and inspecting it, it was Japanese currency. "Wow, strange."**

"**I asked Shigure, and it seems to be the Japanese equivalence of my end of our babysitting savings."**

**My mouth fell open. "So this is probably the same for me?"**

"**However this happened, nothing was overlooked!" She said gleefully, though quietly. "Shopping spreeee!"**

**I grinned. "I've always wanted to shop in Japan!"**

"**We're going!" Izzy called, and together we rushed through the door, and continued rushing for a bit until we realized we didn't know where we were going.**

"**Oh… we should have asked for directions," I said, crestfallen. "Now we'll have to go back."  
**

"**No, look, here's a road. Let's follow it a ways."**

**I shrugged and followed her, making sure to look around and check where we were coming from so that we could get back. **

**Finally, we emerged at what appeared to be a small shopping center. **

"**Let's do this thing," I said, an old phrase we used often in random situations.**

**We ran like complete weirdos until we found a place that sold clothes, and then started trying on random things.**

"**Have you noticed, almost everything here is a short skirt or short shorts?" Izzy asked.**

"**I don't think that's exactly quite reflective of Japanese culture, is it?" I responded, trying on a blue suede skirt with ruffles.**

"**Heck if I know. Wikipedia it, when we get computer access from somewhere," Izzy said, throwing a bright pink skirt over some black leggings and tugging on a gorgeous corset top.**

"**Shopping spree?" I asked about a half hour later, when our arms were piled with clothes that fit, ranging from eccentric to totally out of this world, with a few random normal things (mostly in my pile) chucked in. **

"**Shopping spree," Izzy agreed, petting a t-shirt with a rice ball on it happily.**

"**That was quite the shopping spree you two had," Shigure said when we walked in, arms loaded down with bags. **

"**We haven't gotten a chance to buy new clothes in ages," Izzy replied defensively. **

"**Indeed," Shigure said. "Well, I'll cut right to the chance. Akito's said that he has to meet you before he can decide whether or not you'll be allowed to stay here. It's really quite an honor."  
**

**I exchanged a glance with Izzy. This could only mean bad news. Akito wasn't a character I was exactly thrilled to have the opportunity to meet. **

"**Oh, yes, thank you so much!" Izzy remembered to pretend, bowing her head in respect. "It IS an honor. When will we be seeing him?"**

"**I believe he was hoping I'd bring you back as soon as possible," Shigure responded.**

**The words "Might as well get it over with" hung heavily in the suddenly stiff air between us.**

"**Yes of course," Izzy said, knowing we were trapped. "We'll go and get ready right this moment."  
**

**As soon as we were safely behind closed doors, I let out the breath I'd been holding. "We are thoroughly screwed," I told her, ripping into my bags and trying to find something suitable for meeting Akito.**

End note: Dunno if you'd call that a cliffy or not, but there you have it! Chapter Four! Please review! Or else the evil monkeys will attack you and steal your cookies. Really.


	5. Meeting Akito

Note: Whoo! I'm really in a writing spree lately! I'm really getting into this story—I think it has the potential to be a great romance, once we get into it. Thanks so much for all of the reviews you've been giving so far! I really love the feedback! So, with little more stalling, here you are, Chappie 5 already! W00t! Give me much review-ness, please!

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket isn't something I own, sadly. Although there IS some fruit downstairs, and I can chuck it in a basket if you like.

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Five: Meeting Akito (And Other Such Frightful Events)**

"**I'm really glad I thought to get this," I said for the millionth time, hugging my fairly fancy blue kimono around me. "It's really comfy, and it's gorgeous."**

"**Yeah, and I'm glad you talked me into getting this one," Izzy said, rubbing a thumb over the material of her purple kimono, which was similar, though not the same.**

"**What are we going to do? What if tries to, like, rape us, or something?" I rambled, falling backward onto the bed in nervousness.**

"**Melony," Izzy said sternly. "We aren't even sure what gender Akito really IS. He and or she is NOT going to rape us."**

**I smiled. "You're right. I'm being a bit silly." I hopped up and started pacing the room, resisting the urge to reinstate my bad habit of biting my fingernails. **

"**Will you stop pacing? You're making it hard to focus on getting my hair right, and you're making me nervous!" Izzy snapped, fiddling with her hair chopsticks as she tried to perfect her bun.**

"**It looks gorgeous, so stop worrying," I responded, hopping up to fiddle with my pigtails. I was trying to look at least somewhat adorable, so maybe Akito would go easy on me. I had even tied ribbons to match my kimono into my hair. The pale blue, being my favorite color, put me a bit more at ease.**

"**What do you think?" she said, giving a twirl now that she was satisfied with her hair. **

"**I think we'd do well to not keep Akito waiting, and that you look gorgeous."**

**She nodded in agreement, and we walked carefully down the stairs, our new outfits being the objects of our caution. **

"**Here goes nothing," I whispered.**

"**Or everything," She whispered back.**

"**Well look at you two!" Shigure mused. "Aren't you adorable in your little outfits?"**

**I blushed a deep scarlet, and Izzy rolled her eyes. It was difficult to tell if he was teasing completely, or being slightly serious. **

"**Do they really have to go to Sohma house?" Yuki asked. He was sitting at the table drumming his fingers and looking a bit nervous. **

"**Yes, they really have to go! Weren't you listening? Akito says!" Kyo snapped. I could hear the barely there avoidance of using his favorite insult, "rat boy", which of course wouldn't have been a good idea in front of outsiders like ourselves.**

"**It's really no trouble," Izzy said, smiling. "We're pleased to meet the head of your family."**

**I nodded my agreement, too nervous to speak.**

"**If that's so, why do you look so nervous?" Shigure asked, looking at me in particular.**

"**I-it's just… such an honor… I'm afraid I don't quite live up to it," I supplied, feeling the heat of my cheeks. I was a dreadful liar, and even worse at talking to people I didn't well know. **

"**Let's go, then," Shigure said, a thoughtful look in his eye. **

"**Would it be all right if I came along?" Tohru asked suddenly, finally speaking up from her silent vigil next to Kyo. "I mean, they seem so nervous, and I just thought that it might help, if there were more of us going with them, you know, for moral support or—"**

"**Tohru, relax," Shigure said. "Akito wants to see them alone."**

"**Alone?" Yuki asked, an edge in his voice. "Perhaps I should…"**

"**No, Yuki," Shigure said firmly, serious for once. "Come on, girls. Wouldn't want to keep Akito waiting."**

**I took a deep breath. There was no getting out of this now, so we might as well be brave.**

"**He's going to hate me," I whispered to Izzy. "I'm too timid."**

"**Shh… just don't think about it," she answered, putting on her brave face and marching quickly, keeping in pace with Shigure. "Is it far?" she asked.**

"**Not really," Shigure said. "It's a nice day, anyway."**

**We walked for a bit, until Sohma's main house came into view. My heart dropped out, and I felt a bit sick. The pace of my heart simply couldn't be healthy. I didn't have to worry about Akito now—I was going to die of a heart attack, from sheer nervousness and anticipation.**

**The rest of the walk passed in a complete blur, and suddenly, we were alone in a room with Akito. The color had drained from Izzy's face, and I was sure I didn't look much better, and probably worse. **

"**What purpose, I wonder… could you possibly have for wanting to stay with Shigure and the others? You hardly know them," Akito began. "Why that house, above any other?"**

**His voice was cold and cruel, with a twinge of false sugary sweetness. It sent a chill right down my spine. I waited for Izzy's response, because my mouth was frozen shut.**

"**Shigure-san was kind enough to take us in from the wilderness for one night and offer us food," she stated carefully. "We've no where else to go."**

**It was hard to tell what sort of persuasion would work on Akito. Tears would probably only make him angry, but I could whip them up if the moment called for it. For now, I kept them at bay. **

"**You certainly seem dressed to impress. Did you think that your outfits could persuade me?"**

**I swallowed hard. I knew it wasn't wise to let Izzy do all of the talking ,but I couldn't seem to find any words. **

"**Certainly not," Izzy said. "But we wanted to show respect."**

**He narrowed his eyes, suspicious and frightening. I felt myself give an involuntary shake.**

"**And what about you? Don't you know how to speak?"**

"**I-I-I… f-feel uhm… humbled by the presence… of such an authority figure," I mumbled, hoping he didn't think me sarcastic. **

**He snorted. "As you should."**

**A few moments of horribly thick silence ensued, and finally… "For now, I will tolerate your living in that house. But don't do anything to upset me. You haven't learned it yet, but when it comes to matters of Sohma, I'm in control."**

**I was so relieved that I mustered a small smile. "Thank you very much, Akito-san," I chortled quickly but quietly, bowing low in respect, as Izzy did the same beside me.**

"**Send Shigure in for a moment," Akito ordered as we exited.**

"**He wants to see you," Izzy told him, rather rudely compared to the way she'd spoken to Akito.**

"**I thought he might," Shigure said, wasting no time in vanishing into the room.**

"**That was so nerve-wracking," I whispered. "But could have been much worse."**

"**It certainly could have. We still have our eyesight and everything," she said, pressing a nervous hand to her bun.**

"**And he said yes!" I said, the reality of it suddenly hitting me. "Oh, goodness, Izzy! We're going to live with KYO!"**

**Our smiles were so bright when Shigure came back out, that he raised an eyebrow at once.**

"**What on earth is so exciting?"**

**We exchanged a significant glance, and Izzy said, "Nothing at all. We're just glad to have a place to stay for a while. It's so very much better than wandering around."**

"**But of course! Only, don't think it's going to be free. We expect the same of you as we do of our Tohru!"**

**Izzy nodded. "Consider us your brand new housekeepers," she said in a singsong voice. He looked at her strangely, as you might expect. **

"**There's something about you two…" he muttered. "You're certainly different."**

**We laughed, and he joined in. The relief in the air was wonderful compared to the apprehension of before. But I didn't think for one moment that was the last of Akito we would be seeing. I just hoped we didn't get ourselves into terrible trouble. **

End note: I really cranked that chapter out for you… it took me about a half hour or so. I really hope that I got Akito right. He's a difficult character to muster… rather unpredictable really. So I apologize if it's not quite right. Review, and you shall have cupcakes!


	6. Keeping the Cat in the Bag

Note: If I keep going at this pace, I'm going to very quickly cultivate carpal tunnel… but it'd so be worth it! Thank you SOOO much for the feedback on the way I wrote Akito—I'm really glad you think that I did well! It means so much to me! I'll not keep you waiting, though, so here's chapter six! Don't forget to review, loves!

Disclaimer: Tra la la… I may now own a Pikachu t-shirt, but I still don't own Fruits Basket!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Six: Keeping the Cat in the Bag**

"**Akito actually said yes?" Kyo said, his mouth hanging open.**

"**He's always full of mysteries, that one," Shigure said mysteriously, shrugging. **

"**I wonder… what his plans are this time," Yuki said thoughtfully, before catching himself and smiling. "But this is good news."**

**Tohru rushed in. "I thought I'd make us a little something sweet to celebrate the occasion… I hope everyone likes fried ice cream. This is my first time making it so I apologize if it's not that—"**

"**This is delicious, Honda-san," Yuki said, smiling at her. **

"**Thank you!" Tohru said. "Do you like it, Kyo?"**

"**It's okay," Kyo said, poking at it. **

"**Kyo, don't be so rude! Tohru's home cooked fried ice cream must certainly be the most wonderful thing I have ever tasted!" Shigure said, reaching for seconds.**

**I took for myself a small portion and nibbled at it, wary of the new food. Izzy had already polished some off, and was joining in the praises of Tohru's cooking, though more lightly than Shigure and Yuki. It certainly was good, though different from anything I'd had before. **

"**Do you like it, Melony-san?" Yuki asked softly, and rather suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.**

"**Mhm, it's very good," I said quietly, wondering why it was that he kept trying to include me. Perhaps he recognized in me the same quiet and shy nature that he himself possessed, though anyone would admit I was even worse, and much less attractive and capable of drawing attention. "But don't worry about me," I added on before I really thought about it. **

**He smiled. "Whoever said I was worried?" he teased lightly. **

**It occurred to me to wonder where in the series we'd come in, and I quickly decided it had to be just after the 16****th**** book, considering nothing that was going on felt familiar, and Yuki seemed much more at ease than earlier in the series. **

**Izzy had her head balanced on her hand and was looking somewhat wistfully at Kyo. I nudged her gently, and she jumped.**

"**Ha ha, guess I was dazing off," she said calmly, hopping up. "I think I'll take a quick walk. You want to come, Melony?"**

**I wasn't sure if she meant me to follow or not. I didn't read any "come hither" vibes in the look she gave, so I sort of shook my head no. She smiled and ran off.**

"**Is this normal?" Shigure asked me, and all eyes, even Kyo's red ones, were on me. **

**I let out a nervous little laugh. "I guess so… she uh… she does like her privacy, every now and again…" I said to my plate, unable to meet any of the gazes that were upon me. **

"**She's certainly different, your Isabel-san," Shigure muttered, scratching his chin in thought. **

"**I'm outta here," Kyo announced quite suddenly, as if he couldn't bear the current company a moment longer. "I've had about enough of this weirdness!"**

**I blinked after him, in a daze. Tohru rushed after him, after clearing up the dishes, and Shigure vanished into his office, leaving just mysterious Yuki-kun and I. **

"**Does he hate the idea of two of us taking away from his time with Tohru that much?" I mused, poking at the table. **

"**It's best not to concern yourself with what's on Kyo's mind," Yuki said softly, standing up.**

"**Oh!" I shouted, jumping up as well. I had forgotten he was there, thinking aloud. "I was just… I w-was thinking out loud, I…"**

"**It's all right," he said. "Just relax." And with that, he was gone, leaving me perplexed, and wondering why everyone seemed to want to leave the room but me. Curiously, I sniffed my arms, but I didn't smell. **

"**I think I missed something again," I sighed, walking out the door myself, rather aimlessly. **

**It took me a long to realize I was still walking. My head was so full of thoughts about the Sohmas and all that had happened in just these last few days. By the time I realized it, I was hopelessly lost.**

"**Eek!" I shouted suddenly, realizing that I didn't know where I was. My foot caught on a branch and I fell over. "Well isn't that just perfect?" I asked the forest. "I'm lost and now I've ruined a perfectly wonderful kimono!"**

**I crossed my arms and sat there for a few minutes, lost on what to do. I couldn't even tell which direction was "back" anymore. Eventually, I stood up and started walking in no direction in particular, staring at the ground and begging the stars to lead me home, even though I couldn't even tell what time it was, let alone see any stars. **

"**Ugh, I'm stupid… wandering off… in the middle of freaking anime Japan…" I muttered as I went, paying as much attention to where I was going as I had on my way to get lost. Maybe that way I'd get home somehow.**

"**Oof!" something said as I collided with it, jolting from my thoughts. Trees didn't' speak… so what did I run into?!**

**An orange cat on the ground answered my question, though I could never say it had. Tohru was waving her arms frantically in the air, and eventually settled on picking the cat up and smiling at me.**

"**Kyo-kun and I were on a walk," she started, and I could see her nervousness as she tried to cover up the Sohma's secrets. "He, uhm, he has trouble getting used to new people, so it's nothing personal. But uh, while we were here, we found this cat! Isn't that weird? So I was just uh, trying to help it find its home. Kyo went on home!"**

**I could have given her a hard time, but instead, I just smiled. "Isn't that sweet?" I couldn't resist, so I petted little kitty Kyo on the orange head. "Such a cute little kitty…" I teased, rubbing him behind the ears.**

"**Oh, um, I'd be careful!" Tohru said. "I don't know if he's friendly, I just found him and picked him up… ha ha…"**

"**Oh, nonsense, all cats are friendly if you treat them properly," I insisted, stroking his back. I simply couldn't help myself—it was entirely too funny, and Kyo didn't know that I knew he wasn't really a cat. **

"**I think this is the most I've heard you talk since you got here," Tohru said, smiling. "You like cats?"**

**I grinned broadly. "Very much. But I guess you could call me strange… I also love dogs and rats. They're my three favorites in the zodiac legend."**

**Tohru's eyes widened in shock, as I'd figured they would. Even though I had been telling the truth—I loved dogs, and thought rats to be interesting creatures, it was funny to see what sort of reaction I got out of the Fruits Basket heroine. **

"**Well, I guess we should be heading back! Don't want anyone to worry about us!" she said at last, turning around, turning to walk in the exact opposite direction I'd been headed in. **

"**And we've got to figure out where this kitty lives," I said sweetly, patting Kyo on the head. He looked fairly annoyed, but also determined to keep the secret this time around. I think he was even trying to be a friendly cat. But it wasn't working—no natural cat could scowl quite like that. I pretended not to notice. "So where did you find him?" **

"**I… uhm… right near where you were, actually," she said, probably perplexed as to why I hadn't noticed that I'd crashed into Kyo and the clothes we'd left behind in the woods. "Isn't that a strange coincidence!?"**

**I nodded, walking more carefully now so I wouldn't trip and further harm my kimono.**

"**That's such a pretty kimono," Tohru noted. **

"**It's a shame…" I said. "I'm just a klutz."**

"**I think I know someone who could fix it for you," Tohru said. "He owns a clothing store."**

**Ayame! Why didn't I think of that? Not that me thinking of that would have done much good, but I still should have realized… **

"**Do you really? How much does he charge?"**

**Kyo looked bored and miserable, but also happy to be in Tohru's arms. He was one content little cat. **

"**I'm not sure. But he's Yuki-san's brother, so maybe he'd do it for free… I'm not really sure. He's pretty mysterious."  
**

**I shrugged. "Thanks for the recommendation. I'll ask after it."**

**The house came into view at long last, and I'd never been more relieved. I could see that it was late evening, and I was just dying for a bath and then sleep. **

"**If you don't mind," I said to Tohru, giving her and Kyo the window for escape, "I think I'll take a bath now. So you'll have to help the cat on your own, at least for a little while."**

**Tohru smiled, relieved. "That's not a problem! It was nice to have your company in the woods!"**

"**It was nice to have yours," I responded, trotting inside contently. "I'm a genius," I muttered, pleased with myself for the enjoyable time I'd had petting Kyo's ears and getting away with it. Izzy was going to be so jealous. Although, for all I knew, the woods had held an adventure for her, too…**

End note: I hope you enjoyed chapter six of Whose Manga Is It, Anyway?. Cookies to the reviewers! Until next time, everyone!


	7. Talents

Note: Thanks so much for all of the reviews! Here's chapter 7, loves. Continue those fabbity reviews, will you?

Disclaimer: Aaaah… ((sob)). I don't own Fruits Basket… quit rubbing it in, would you?!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Seven: Talents**

"**So, why did you want to go on a walk?" I asked Izzy, coming into Tohru's room to find her alone on the bed with a book of unknown origin. **

"**Ah, finally, you're home!" she said, tossing the book aside. "I was trying to find a few things out about how we got here," she said, picking the book back up and showing me the cover.**

"**That's the same spell book we used," I said, stating the obvious.**

"**Exactly. I bought a copy on my walk. I'm trying to figure out how the 'find love' spell could cause us to end up here."**

"**And how's that going?"**

"**No luck whatsoever."**

**I sighed. "I wonder if we're just such outcasts that a love for us couldn't be found in our own dimension."**

"**Speak for yourself! I could find love if I wanted. Without a spell, even."**

**I shook my head. We both knew I was the worst of the two of us, as far as talking to people and fitting in went. But neither of us were exactly popular. "What I want to know is how long this will last. Are we stuck here forever, or is it going to wear off…?"**

"**Maybe," Izzy said suddenly, eyes lighting up, "we have to break the Sohma curse! Maybe that's why we're here!"**

**I shrugged. "Newsflash, Izzy—we don't know how to break the curse any better than anyone here."**

"**Not entirely true," she retaliated. "We know all about them, but they don't know that we know. If one of us were to get one of the Sohmas to love us, and get them to show us that they're cursed, wouldn't that mean something?"**

"**Yes, it would mean something," I said. "It would mean that that love was a lie."**

"**Here you go again," Izzy sighed, well used to my rants and rambles on love, which I knew next to nothing about, at least not in personal experience. **

"**What?" I said, tapping the spell book. "It's not my book that got us into this mess."**

**Izzy smiled slyly. "Whoever said it was a mess? I, for one, think it's a miracle!"**

**I flopped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Kyo certainly isn't quite what I expected. He's quieter."**

"**That's because we aren't Tohru. And we shouldn't talk like this where they might overhear."**

**I nodded, and mused over the question of how we came to be here, and what it might mean. **

"**Dinner's ready!" Tohru called cheerfully up the stairs sometime later.**

"**This'll mark our first real dinner here, with the Sohmas," I told Izzy as we hopped off the bed and headed down to the table, where everyone was already seated around steaming food. **

"**Thank you so much," Izzy said. "It looks delicious!"**

**She quickly snagged the open seat next to Kyo, so I sat between her and Yuki. I realized by the looks everyone was giving me that I had forgotten to change out of my kimono.**

"**Er… I uhm… tripped," I said truthfully. **

**Izzy looked at me. "You got lost again, didn't you? You're always getting lost."**

**I laughed. "Yeah… I got lost," I said softly. "Luckily, I ran into Tohru-san!"**

**  
Tohru smiled and shook her head. "No no, I was the lucky one! It was so pleasant to walk home with you!"**

**Kyo shot her a look, but I ignored it, giving Izzy a sort of significant look, saying "I'll explain later" with my eyes. **

"**Tohru, you've done it again! This food is wonderful," Shigure said, fake tears streaming down his face. **

"**You know," Izzy said suddenly, "if Tohru ever needed a break, Melony cooks very well!"**

**I shot her a look, blushing. I didn't want the Sohmas to ask me to cook for them. It was simply too much. **

"**Can you? That's great! I'm sure you're much better than I am, but I understand if you don't want that responsibility!" Tohru said.**

"**I'm all right," I said modestly. "I love it more than I'm good at it."**

"**You'll have to show us your cooking some time, Melony-chan," Shigure said wickedly. "We've got a little apron that would look adorable on you!"**

**Yuki whacked his older cousin on the head. "Must you always say things like that?" he asked, looking apologetically at me. "I apologize, Melony-san."**

**I smiled. "It's really nothing."**

**Izzy smirked. "She really should cook for you sometime."**

**  
Somehow, I smelled a scheme in the air, and it wasn't the fumes from Tohru's cooking. **

"**I can't stand all this sappy talk," Kyo burst suddenly. "I'm leaving."**

**We watched him leave, all of us stunned.**

"**To the roof again, Kyo…?" Tohru wondered out loud.**

"**He really hates us, doesn't he?" Izzy asked, looking hurt. **

"**No no," Tohru said. "Kyo's just shy around new people. He'll open up."**

**Remembering something from the series, I looked at Yuki. His fists were neatly clenched in his lap. "Yes, you'll all be the best of friends in no time," he said quietly, bitterly. Tohru didn't hear him, and Izzy chose to ignore him, since he'd never been one of her favorite characters in the series.**

"**What do you mean, to the roof?" she asked, faking puzzlement. **

"**Oh, when he gets upset, Kyo likes to sulk on the roof," Shigure said happily. **

"**What are you so happy about?" Yuki asked. Shigure shrugged.**

"**I've just had an idea," he said. "For my novel."**

**His eyes had a gleam in them that I well recognized. "You'd better get to it," I said. "Before it slips just to that annoying place where you can still taste it but you just can't make it real."**

**He looked at me strangely. "You're a writer?"**

**I blushed. Another secret gone. I just couldn't seem to keep them these days. **

"**Oh, yes! Back at home, she'd write fanfictions, and I'd do the illustrations!" Izzy said smartly, producing a pencil randomly and grabbing a piece of paper that she somehow located. **

"**She's really talented," I told Shigure as Izzy scribbled down quickly, producing a beautiful sketch of Yuki, Shigure, Tohru, and I sitting around the table, drawn from her perspective. **

"**That really is amazing," Shigure said. "I might have to show that to my agent some time."**

**Izzy simply glowed with pleasure. "Really?!"**

"**We'll see if you earn it," Shigure said slyly, slinking off to his study again. **

"**If I earn it," Izzy repeated, blinking after him. "I got distracted. We should have gotten him to read something of yours," she said to me.**

"**I haven't got anything with me…" I said sadly. **

"**What sorts of things do you write, Melony-san?" Tohru asked. "Shigure's the only real life writer I've ever met! I still haven't read anything of his, though."**

**Yuki made a disgusted face. "And you don't want to," he cut in. **

**I didn't like being the center of attention, which had been the reason I'd thrust everyone's attention to Izzy just a few minutes ago. "I… uh… well I… don't you think Kyo's hungry? He hardly touched his food," I said, changing the subject away from myself. **

"**Oh you're right! I'll take something up right this minute!" Tohru exclaimed, running off.**

"**Wait, wait!" Izzy said, standing up. "I want to make him stop hating me. Can I come with you?" **

**I knew she really wanted to try and charm him, but either way, Tohru allowed her to come, and I was left once again alone with "Prince" Yuki Sohma.**

"**I apologize for leaving so abruptly," he said. "But I've got something I need to tend to."**

**Never mind, then. Leaving me all alone. I wondered if he could be going out to his secret base so late, and decided he probably was. If I were braver, maybe I'd follow him. I was dying to see his plants. But instead, I went upstairs, and went to bed…**

**-Now We Change to Izzy's POV for the FIRST TIME EVER-**

**I just HAD to make Kyo fall in love with me. It had been my dream ever since I'd become a Fruits Basket fan, so many years ago. I wasn't like Melony—this opportunity was not going to be wasted on me. I'd do whatever it took to get Kyo's heart! **

"**Kyo-kun," Tohru said, going up the ladder first. "We brought you something to eat."**

"**We?" Kyo replied warily.**

"**Isabel-san is here as well," Tohru said nervously. I quickly followed up the ladder and made the "I come in Peace" sign.**

"**I'm not sure what I did," I said carefully. "But I'd like to make it up to you."**

"**You didn't do anything," he said. "I just don't like people."**

**I was shocked at his bluntness. Was the Kyo I knew and loved that blunt? I thought for a moment. Yes, I supposed he was. But I could be blunt, too.**

"**Well, neither do I, really. But if we're going to be living together, you're going to have to get used to me someday."**

"**Then maybe I'll just leave!"**

"**Kyo-kun," Tohru said, brushing his hand lightly, causing me to blush in fury, though I did my best to hide it, "You don't mean that, do you? That you'll just leave? Because I really want you to stay."**

**  
I sighed. The look in his eyes was so sappy it nearly made me gag. I knew I had lost the battle, at least today. **

"**Well, Kyo-san," I said, starting my way back down the ladder, "think what you will of me."**

**I rushed off to find my best friend and tell her about my latest attempt at Kyo! She was the romantic—maybe she could help me! **

End note: I really hope that you guys enjoy this chapter, and the little tidbit of "inside Izzy's mind" at the end. I figured we don't follow her character enough, and so, ta-da! Review! You know you want to!


	8. Pancakes

Note: Wowie, chapter 8! Two more chapters to TEN! Well, on with it, then. Review!

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket (and Kyo) are not mine. –sob-

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Eight: Pancakes**

"**Melony!" Izzy shrieked, waking me from a strange but pleasant dream about planting strawberries and cherry trees in a corn field. The mood of the dream had been so happy and calm that I just wanted to roll over and ignore her.**

"**Melony, I know you're awake, I can see your eyes open," she said, plopping down next to me.**

**I sighed and sat up. "What is it? Did you kiss Kyo or something?"**

**Izzy sighed back at me. "I wish! That would be so wonderful!"**

**I smiled. "Yes it would! But you'd have to be so careful about it… Anyway, what happened?"**

"**I talked to him! And sure, he yelled at me, but I still consider that progress!"**

**I shook my head at her. "You should try being less blunt with Kyo-kun," I said. "You know how he is." Even though I had a huge crush on Kyo, I couldn't see myself with him in a romantic manner—I could see clearly that his heart belonged to Tohru, even if he wasn't willing to fork it over on a silver platter to her. **

"**I know, but it's so frustrating! I don't have any patience at all. We don't know how long we're going to be here."**

**I mused over the problem a moment. She was obviously after something she could do to get Kyo's attention. "Why don't you make some salmon rice balls for him sometime… and say that you just figured he seemed the sort who would like fish?"**

**Izzy's eyes sparkled. "That's perfect! You're a genius, as always," she said, throwing her arms around me.**

"**That's wonderful, but can the genius get some sleep now?" **

"**Of course!" **

**With that, she hopped into the bed, and closed her eyes. **

"**Izzy," I said. "Where is Tohru?"**

"**I don't know," Izzy said. "We'll worry about that tomorrow."**

**I got the idea that Tohru was sleeping on the couch or some other such nonsense for us, and I wouldn't have that. She may be syrupy sweet and self sacrificing to everyone else, but I, for one, wanted to keep my dignity and not take every bit of kindness offered to me. "Tomorrow, I'm asking her where she's been sleeping."**

"**With our luck," Izzy said through a yawn, "she'll say 'in Kyo-kun's bed, of course!'."**

**I laughed and closed my eyes again, thoughts whirring in my brain, but silenced soon enough by exhaustion.**

"**Good MORNING!" Izzy shouted in my ear suddenly.**

"**Ack!" I shouted back, startled. How was it that she went to bed later than me, and still got up first? Stupid morning people… **

"**I'm hungry and Tohru's snoozing away on the couch, which I guess solves the mystery of where she's been. But I want you to make me breakfast!" **

**I sighed at her and got up, heading over to the closet to get dressed. "What should I make? This is Japan, not America. I don't suppose they've got the ingredients for pancakes?"**

**She shrugged. "You know I can't cook very well, so how would I know?"**

**I sighed at her. "I guess I'll have to check," I said, tugging on a tank top and some jean shorts, the plainest outfit I'd worn while we were here. Izzy was, as usual, in some pretty eccentric attire. But she looked gorgeous.**

"**In that outfit," I told her, "It'll be a miracle if Kyo can keep his hands off of you!"**

**She laughed and pushed me through the door. "I'm hungry!" she complained. **

**Once in the kitchen, I shuffled around until I found a pan, some flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, eggs, and milk. **

"**Whoo," I said, talking to no one in particular, since Izzy was sitting outside on the porch with the spell book and Tohru was still asleep on the couch. The others were mysteriously not there, presumably sleeping as well.**

**I chucked the ingredients together in a bowl and fished around some more to find a whisk, sighing and at last settling to whip the stuff with a spoon. I was just pouring it into the pan when I heard someone come in the room.**

"**What the hell is that smell? Are you trying to poison us or something?!"**

"**Good morning, Kyo-san," I said gently and softly without turning from my pan, intent on watching the pancakes and making them without burning them or having them be undone in the middle this time. I wanted to impress the Sohmas.**

"**You didn't answer my question! What are you making?"**

"**It's called pancakes," I snapped, not at all the morning person, my bad mood overcoming my natural tendencies towards shyness and being a pushover.**

"**Where's Tohru?" He asked, watching me flip the pancake with a suspicious expression on his face.**

"**She's asleep," I replied shortly, pressing the pancake down with the spatula. **

"**Well I'm not eating that," Kyo said. "I'll make myself a rice ball or—"**

**A light thud broke his words. Izzy, brandishing the spell book, had arrived in the kitchen. "Don't be so rude to Melony, she's making you breakfast. The least you can do is try it."**

**Kyo glared at her. "What'd you hit me for!? I wasn't ready!"**

**Izzy laughed. "That was the idea, carrot-top."**

**I didn't know what she was playing at, teasing with Kyo… unless of course she was trying to flirt. I sighed softly to myself and scooped the first pancake onto a plate and got to work on the next one. **

"**Could one of you set the table for me?" I asked sweetly.**

"**I'll do it! Oh, how could I have slept so late, it's my job to make breakfast!" Tohru suddenly called from the living room. "I'm so sorry to have caused you that trouble. You could have just woken me up, and I'd have done it."**

"**It's no trouble," I said, "I love to cook."**

**Tohru rushed around setting the table, and Kyo sat down at it, looking angry and slightly curious.**

"**Where are Shigure-san and Yuki-san?" Tohru asked. "I'd hate for them to miss the meal you made for them."**

**I shrugged, and as if by magic, Yuki appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Yuki-san!" Tohru called to him, smiling. **

**Even though he was less a morning person than I, Yuki still smiled and said, "Good morning, Honda-san."**

**Finishing up the last pancake, I gently set the skillet and the rest of my dishes in the sink, to be dealt with later, and took the food to the table, serving each plate with two pancakes.**

"**Bugger!" I muttered, realizing there might not be syrup. **

"**Ta-da!" Izzy said, grinning and pulling out a brand-new bottle of syrup. "I knew you wouldn't think of it, so I ran out and bought some when you weren't looking!"**

**  
I sighed in relief, and she set it in the center of the table, along with the butter.**

"**And now, we get to eat!" she said happily, plopping down next to Kyo, who was poking suspiciously at the pancakes I'd put on his plate.**

"**This smells delicious, Melony-san," Yuki said, sitting down next to Tohru and rubbing his eyes, still looking a bit sleepy.**

**I smiled, glad that someone appreciated my cooking. "Thank you," I said meekly, having woken up enough to be shy again. **

**Despite the minor difficulty of eating pancakes with chopsticks, everyone seemed to enjoy the food (even though Kyo would never admit it and grumbled right through his third and fourth pancakes).**

"**What's this? You've all sat down to breakfast without me? I'm hurt…" Shigure said, appearing in the doorframe, looking as if he'd been awake for hours.**

"**No you're not!" Kyo shot at him, a half finished pancake flopping out of his mouth. I giggled, and he turned his glare on me. "What are you laughing at?"**

"**Obviously she's laughing at you, stupid cat," Yuki said.**

**And I thought they'd resolved many of their issues this late in the series. Clearly, however, they had not. "Boys, boys," Shigure said. "No need to fight so early in the morning."**

**Yuki and Kyo glared at Shigure, who plopped himself down beside me and starting eating the pancakes, with much less fuss than Kyo.**

"**These are truly wonderful, Melony-san," Tohru said as she ate, smiling. "You're a much better cook than I am!"**

**I smiled at her. "Thanks, but I'm not," I murmured to my empty plate.**

"**But you are very talented, Melony-san," Yuki said in his charming, princely manner. I would have been flattered, but he seemed to treat all girls that way, so I simply took it as Yuki being his usual, polite self.**

"**Thank you," I said, smiling and standing to take my plate into the kitchen. **

"**No no, please, let me get it!" Tohru said, and in a flash, the table was spotless.**

**We all stared. "How does she DO that?" Izzy asked, perplexed. "If I cleaned that fast, I'd be out and about a lot more…"  
**

"**So, what's in the stars for our young people today?" Shigure asked suddenly.**

**I blinked at him. **

"**Whatever do you mean, Shigure-san?" Izzy asked.**

"**Well I imagine you'll be going to do something," he said. "It's boring just sitting around home. When I was young, I used to go on dates every weekend!"**

"**Are you mocking my singleness?" Izzy said, eyes narrowed.**

"**No, no, not at alllll," Shigure said in his singsong manner. **

"**We don't know what there is to DO around here," Izzy defended.**

"**Wellll…" Shigure said. "The Sohmas own a lake house."**

"**What are you scheming?" Yuki asked, now also suspicious.**

"**I'm not scheming! You trust so little," Shigure said, whipping up fake tears. "But a house full of so many bored teenages isn't a good idea, so I thought I'd treat you all to a day out. I'll be coming along, of course, to chaperone you."**

**I wondered if he had pages due and was running from his editor, but naturally didn't voice my suspicion. **

"**The lake house? That would be so wonderful, Shigure! But it's too much trouble! I'm really very grateful, but don't put yourself to all that trouble!"**

"**Where do you get off volunteering us to go somewhere, anyway? Weren't you going to ask first?!"**

"**Of course I was," Shigure whined. "I just did ask!"**

"**I, for one," Izzy said, a sly smile sliding onto her plump lips, "would love to see the lake house."**

**An idea struck me. They hadn't done it in the anime, but…**

"**Would we be able to go swimming?" I asked timidly. **

"**What a wonderful idea!" Shigure said. "Of course you can. But you'll need the proper suits."**

"**On second thought…" I muttered to Izzy, seeing the images of Tohru, Izzy, and I in skimpy bathing suits that were flashing inside his perverted brain. **

"**Oooh, swimming! That would be so much FUN!" Tohru said, stars in her eyes.**

**Kyo's sour attitude softened a little, but he didn't verbally agree to going. Not yet. I could see in his eyes that he would.**

"**If Honda-san and the others would enjoy it, I'd be happy to go," Yuki said.**

"**You don't have to do that for me!" Tohru said, waving her arms frantically.**

"**But they can do it for us!" Izzy said, grabbing me and squeezing me in a tight hug. I could see the fright on the Sohma males' faces, as if she might pounce on them next. A part of me was tempted to act like I was going to hug them, just to see what their excuse would be, but instead, I smiled.**

"**That's sounds like fun," I said.**

"**When do we leave?" Izzy asked, putting her adorable face back on.**

"**As fast as you can pack," Shigure said. "I had a feeling you'd all say yes, so I called ahead to get us a bus."**

"**You bastard," Kyo said. "You really DID just make our plans for us!"**

"**Language, language, Kyo," Shigure said sternly. "There are ladies in the room!"**

**I heaved a sigh. If we survived this trip, it would be a miracle. **

End note: Wow, that chapter just kept getting longer and longer! Please review and tell me what you think!


	9. All Aboard!

Note: Whoo, chapter nine is already here… I really AM going to cultivate carpal tunnel here soon… but oh well! Review for me, would you?

A note at Mrs. BoogerSnooger—you should try to draw us in our bikinis; I described them special for you!

Disclaimer: See this? This is a hand that can't draw. So yeah, I don't own Fruits Basket.

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter Nine: All Aboard!**

"**But we don't have suits," Izzy said, frowning.**

"**I figured as much," Shigure said, smirking. "So I bought these for you!" He whipped out two horridly skimpy bikinis. "Hurry, hurry, try them on!"**

**We all stared at him. "Those are going to be too small," Izzy said.**

"**Just try them—let us be the judges of that!"**

"**Unbelievable," I muttered to Izzy as we took them and scurried off to the bathroom. "He just wants to see us in bikinis!"**

"**Well, if it looks bad, I'm not coming out," she responded, sighing and running in the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged, wearing a purple bikini with purple strings tying at the sides of the bottoms, and a halter top with a small, star shaped cutout at the center of her chest. The dark color made her pale skin shine like liquid moonlight. It accented her body perfectly, and she looked wonderful. **

"**I have to admit," I said, "Shigure's got good taste. You look like a goddess!"**

**Izzy shrugged. "It look all right… maybe good enough to get a bit of attention. But I'm not going out there alone, so hurry up!"**

**I sighed. This was so embarrassing! Kyo and Yuki and Tohru and Shigure were out there—I didn't want them to see me looking horrible! And I never had looked very appealing in a bikini, in my own opinion. **

**The one I had was also a halter top, in sky blue. How Shigure knew our favorite colors I'd never know, though I supposed yesterday's kimonos would clue him in. The bottoms were a little skirt with a tiny blue heart sewn at the right-hand corner, and the top had a similar heart sewn in the center, where Izzy's star shaped hole was located. I shrugged and pulled it on, willing it to look decent. **

**I didn't recognize my reflection. My skin, nicely tanned, though scarred from various cooking incidents, accented nicely to the color. I could almost see where someone might call me attractive. But that only made me feel MORE self conscious about leaving this bathroom. **

"**Must I come out?" I whined at Izzy.**

"**It can't look that bad, come on!" **

**I took a deep breath and opened the door.**

"**Oh my gosh," Izzy gushed. "You're going to snatch Kyo for sure," she said softly. **

"**Hardly—you can have him if you can get him," I said. "Let's just get this over with."**

**Grabbing my hand, she half dragged me back into the room, where everyone was sitting with completely bored expressions on their faces, especially Kyo, who looked ready to blow a gasket if we didn't hurry. **

"**I don't see why the hell I have to sit here for!" he complained. "Who gives a damn what they look…"**

**He trailed off as we came into the room, his mouth falling open.**

**Shigure beamed. "I knew those colors would suit you," he said proudly, ogling us. I prayed that a large screen would fall from the sky to hide me.**

"**You look so pretty!" Tohru said. "Those colors really DO suit you!"**

"**Well, what do you think, Yuki?" Shigure asked.**

**Yuki was sitting very still with a slight blush on his face. I assumed that he thought Izzy as attractive as Kyo (whose eyes were still fixed on her) did. **

"**They both look very cute," he said at last, smiling. I felt my cheeks get hot, and looked down at the carpet.**

"**Can we take these off now?" Izzy asked.**

"**Well, I don't know if Kyo and Yuki's young hormones could handle the strain…" Shigure said.**

"**In the bathroom," Izzy clarified, rolling her eyes.**

"**Of course! The rest of you, get to packing! We leave in an hour!" Shigure said in a very singsong manner.**

"**I wonder what he's up to," I heard Yuki mutter to Tohru.**

"**Hell if I know," Kyo sighed, getting up and walking off, defeated and forced to comply…**

**An hour later, we were all loading up onto a charter bus. It seemed like things moved at super fast speed in Fruits Basket world. Only yesterday I'd had nothing on my agenda. **

"**I'm so excited," Tohru said. "It's so beautiful at the lake house!"**

**Shigure beamed. "I'd hoped you would all be thrilled," he said.**

"**I bet he's hiding from his editor again," I muttered ever so softly to Izzy. **

"**Most likely," she said, rolling her eyes and chucking her suitcase into the open compartment. **

"**It's not a long trip, is it?" she asked loudly.**

"**Of course not. It's only about an hour or so," Shigure said, "And we can entertain ourselves, can't we?" The devilish glint in his eyes suggested bad, bad means of entertainment.**

"**You are such a perv," Izzy said, flopping down into one of the seats and pulling out the spell book, propping it open on her lap and stretching her arms wide. **

**I followed suit, sitting down and crossing my legs. I didn't have anything I wanted to read at the moment, so I figured I'd daydream or nap.**

"**I'm NOT sitting by that DAMN Yuki!" Kyo suddenly erupted.**

"**There's plenty of room in the back, stupid," Yuki responded.**

"**Haven't you looked? There's stuff everywhere back there!"**

**Kyo was right—the back seats were taken up by various items that Shigure had lugged along. Shigure and Tohru were seated together, and Yuki was sitting in one seat, with Izzy across the aisle. The seats next to Izzy and I were the only open ones besides the one next to Yuki.**

"**This seat's free," Izzy said, sitting up and patting the seat next to her.**

**Kyo sighed and sat down next to Izzy, sulking. **

"**Melony-san," Yuki said, "you don't have to sit all by yourself if you don't want to."**

**I bit my lip. People made me nervous, but then, I'd always complained about how no one ever wanted to sit by me on the school bus, so passing this opportunity up would be stupid. I stood and flopped into the seat next to him, the complete absence of grace. **

**Kyo grinned with victory and jumped into the newly open seat, and Izzy pouted. **

"**I don't bite unless provoked," she joked, cracking open the book and returning her attention to it. I knew her pride was wounded, but she wasn't going to give up on Kyo that easily. **

"**Are we ready?" Shigure asked gleefully. **

"**Yes!" we all hollered back, Kyo somewhat angrily, and me barely audibly. **

**The silence between Yuki and I was somewhat deafening. Maybe the seating arrangement of placing the two shyest passengers beside one another hadn't been the wisest choice.**

"**So um… what is the lake house like…?" I asked very timidly, wishing for my moral support (aka Izzy) to move her butt over here and make conversation for me. But she was busy with her spell book and sneaking glances at a sulking Kyo.**

"**Well…" Yuki said, thinking. "It's nice. Honda-san really enjoyed it last time we were there… it's just a house set on Sohma property, surrounded by a large forest and a lake."**

**I smiled. "That does sound nice," I said, resisting the urge to nibble a fingernail. "You care very much for Honda-san, don't you?" I asked all in one quick breath, before I could think better of it.**

**He laughed very softly and gently. "I guess…" he said slowly, "Honda-san is like a mother to me."**

**I was surprised that he would tell me that, and by the look on his face, so was he. "I see," I said carefully. "This question… will probably come out wrong… so forgive me, but… it always looks as though you have a crush… on Tohru…san," I said very quietly. **

**He looked out the window. "I'm not sure I think of her that way," he said, watching the trees pass by. "Not the way Kyo does," he continued, very quietly so as to not be overheard.**

**I nodded. "It's clear in his eyes when he looks at her… that he'll never have eyes for anyone else," I declared wisely.**

**Yuki looked at me, surprised. "You're very observant, aren't you?" **

**I blushed. "I guess so," I said, looking at my hands clasped in my lap, examining the chipped polish on them as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. **

"**I'm not sure if I could allow Kyo to date Honda-san," Yuki said suddenly. "I doubt he could make her happy."**

"**And how… do you propose to stand in the way of true love… when you've never felt it yourself?" I asked cautiously, barely believing the words allowed themselves from my lips.**

"**I suppose I couldn't, could I?" Yuki said, looking at me strangely. So gently that I might not have noticed, he took my face in his hand and turned it to face his. "Your eyes are a nice color," he said. "You should look at people when you speak with them."**

**My face must have been redder than the strawberries on Tohru's towel. I let out a soft laugh. "I'm just shy," I said. "It takes me a long time to be comfortable with people."**

**Yuki smiled. "I know how you feel. But don't hesitate to be yourself. None of us will blame you for that."**

**This time, I met his eyes, and I said, "Thank you very much, Yuki-san."**

End note: Ta-da! I know, it's awfully long for just a bus trip, but what can I say? I wanted a nice conversation tidbit for Melony and Yuki! Review, would you? The review monkeys might steal your Cheese-its if you don't! I promise we'll get some more going on with Izzy soon!


	10. Splish Splash

Note: The day I have to make note of this is a sad day for me, buuuuuut a quick rant on FLAMERS. Yeah, if you can't write, then please, take your silly jealousy somewhere else. I don't approve of flaming and if you don't like a story, just leave it be. Don't act like you're better then everyone else, 'cause I hate to tell you, but that only makes you less than them. Any further flaming, and I WILL respond with my opinion on the matter. Thanks for listening to that, everyone. So sorry that it had to be done! This chapter took me longer than most… just out of sheer laziness! Still, I hope you enjoy chapter 10 of Whose Manga is it, Anyway? Thanks for your reviews, and please keep those puppies coming in!

Disclaimer: Don't own Fruits Basket, though it saddens my heart…

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 10: Splish Splash**

**--We Start in Izzy's POV—**

**Even though Kyo's not sitting with me bothered me, I chose to ignore it. Let him think that I felt nothing, the heartless idiot. I could see that Melony was chatting up to Yuki, which I'd expected. If nothing else, their like natures would lead to a deeply founded friendship. **

**Eventually, reading through and making note of various spells got dull, so I pulled out a bit of paper and a pencil and started drawing. At first, I wasn't sure what my hand was doing, but eventually it produced a sketch of Kyo—just as he currently was, sitting bored and lonesome in the seat all by himself.**

**It instantly became my favorite of anything I'd ever drawn—it was such an amazingly done drawing of Kyo! Though generally I was very critical of my own drawings, I thought it was really good and captured his pose perfectly.**

"**I should draw without thinking more often," I muttered, tucking the drawing away to be shown to Melony later.**

"**We're heeeeere!" Shigure declared, jumping up and grabbing his luggage. "Last one to the cabin has to unpack for me!"**

**He ran off and we all looked at him for a moment, then Kyo smirked at Yuki. "Do you hear that?" he said. "Another race! I'm going to beat you for sure!"**

**And he grabbed his things and mine and rushed off before I could protest that he was taking my things as well.**

"**So sorry, Melony-san," Yuki said, "But if I don't follow, he's just going to yell."**

**He snatched up her things in a much more gentlemanly fashion and darted off after Kyo.**

"**Well," Tohru said nervously. "Some things never change." She laughed nervously and fumbled with her bags. I thought it was funny that Kyo and Yuki hadn't taken her bags, but Melony apparently did not. She walked over and started helping her. Now I'd look bad if I didn't do the same.**

**And that was how our group got into the lake house, three running boys first and three walking girls sharing a load just after…**

**--Melony's POV—**

**The lake house was even more amazing in person than it had seemed in the anime. "It's amazing," I gasped, rushing to a window to look at the lake. **

"**Isn't it just?" Shigure said, beaming. "I knew you would like it! Let's not waste time—you should all go swimming! I, of course, will be your chaperone!" **

**Izzy rolled her eyes. "You just want to see Tohru-san, Melony, and I in swim suits," she said, retrieving her things harshly from Kyo. "Which room will Melony and I have?"**

"**How little you trust," Shigure sobbed, pointing her in the direction of our room.**

"**Since I already have your things, Melony-san, let me give you a hand," Yuki said as I picked up the smaller of my two bags. I flushed.**

"**Thank you very much, Yuki-san," I said, smiling. "But I can easily handle it. Why don't you help Toh—"**

"**I'm taking Tohru's bags, you damn rat!" Kyo called, snatching up Tohru's things and running off in a temper.**

**Yuki sighed. "You were saying?" he said, heading off towards my room. Defeated, I followed, forced to accept his chivalry. **

**After setting my things down, he left Izzy and I to unpack. As expected, Izzy raised her eyebrows at me as soon as he was out of sight.**

"**Since when are you and Yuki best friends?" she said, grinning wickedly.**

"**We aren't, he's just being polite," I responded, blushing. I wasn't used to getting attention from boys. **

"**It's not like I mind—that leaves Kyo wide open for me!" she said, giggling.**

"**Now now, whoever said I'm not still a fangirl?" I said, putting on my obsessive face. "For all you know, this is all a secret plot."**

**She laughed. "You? Secret plot?"**

**She had a point. I wasn't much of one for secrets, or plots. Unless it was the writing sort of plot, of course.**

"**Look at what I drew," she said suddenly, whipping a sketch out of her binder. It was an amazing depiction of Kyo.**

"**Wow! I wish I could draw like that!" I said, drooling over the drawing. "He might be flattered, if you caught him at the right time with it."**

**She sighed. "As you may have noticed, he doesn't seem particularly fond of me."**

**I shrugged. "He took your bags, not Tohru's. That might mean something." It was farfetched (they HAD been closest), but it was also possible. **

"**Notice who's he took when the race was over," she said, dragging out her suit. "I hate to say it, but let's take Shigure's advice and go swimming."**

**I beamed. I just loved water! "Okay!" I said, snatching up my suit and slamming the door so we could get changed…**

**Shigure looked utterly pleased with himself when Izzy and I emerged in our suits. **

"**Anyone else coming?" Izzy asked, looking specifically at Kyo, who I could imagine she was dying to see up close and in person in swim trunks.**

"**Of course, you'll need an adult present," Shigure said, "But I think I'll stay out of the water today."**

**Izzy glared at him. "If the rest of us are going to be half naked, you shouldn't get the opportunity to be an exception," she said.**

"**Now now, I know you're just dying to see me topless, but honestly—"**

"**NO ONE IS DYING TO SEE YOU TOPLESS!" Izzy and Kyo shouted in unison. **

**Shigure whipped up some fake tears. "Tohru, look how mean they're being," he whimpered. **

"**I uh…" she said, "I think I'll go get my swim suit on now!" she said, running off. **

"**I'm going with you," Kyo decided at once.**

_**Kyo's going to go swimming? **_**I thought in amazement.**

"**But I'm not getting in the water!" he finished, crossing his arms and looking determined.**

"**What about you, Yuki-san?" Izzy asked. **

"**Well I… guess I could come," he said.**

"**Come on, Yuki-san," I said, smiling. "You don't want to be in the house all by yourself, do you?"**

**Yuki smiled. "No, I guess not," he said, standing up. "I'll be right back, then."**

**Izzy gave me a very suggestive look and I sighed at her.**

"**I am NOT going to fall victim to the Prince's charms," I whispered calmly in her ear, keeping a smile plastered on my face.**

**Kyo's face turning an extremely strange shade of red signaled Tohru's return to the room, clad in her bathing suit. **

"**You look wonderful, Tohru!" Shigure declared.**

"**Shut up, you pervert!" Kyo yelled, moving over a bit as if to protect Tohru. **

**Izzy and I giggled, despite our jealousy. Yuki walked very slowly back into the room, looking very self conscious. I turned red at once upon seeing him; he looked undeniably attractive in his trunks, close to the same color as his hair. **

"**I wonder what the fan club girls would say if they could see him," Izzy muttered in my ear.**

"**Are we all ready?" Shigure asked, looking excited at the fact that he was in a room with three bikini-clad females. **

"**Sure are!" Tohru said, smiling. "But I'm really not a very good swimmer, so I probably won't be in the water much. I hope that's okay."**

"**That's fine," Shigure said. "But we can always help you out."**

**I was sure that was suggestive somehow, being Shigure, but I wasn't sure how. All of us set off towards the lake, Kyo bringing up the rear and looking a bit sulky in contrast to Tohru's smiling face beside him, chattering away. **

"**I bet you're a great swimmer, huh, Yuki-san?" Izzy said, a bit sarcastically.**

"**I wouldn't say that," Yuki said. "Just not terrible, is all."**

**I was smiling so brightly by now—I hadn't been swimming in what seemed like forever. "Melony loves the water," Izzy commented, patting me on the head. "And she's a good swimmer. The two of you should race."**

"**Race?" I said, giving her a pointed look of 'stop trying to hook me up with Yuki'. "I'd really rather not."  
**

**Yuki smiled. "It's up to Melony-san," he said. "I don't mind."**

"**Look, look, we're nearly there!" Shigure exclaimed, pointing like an excited three year old.**

"**Oooh it's even prettier than I remember!" Tohru said, picking up speed and leaving Kyo behind.**

**Izzy grinned at me. "Race you to the water?" she said. "You can join in if you want, Yuki-san," she added as an afterthought.**

"**I'm gonna win!" I said, laughing. **

"**One," she counted.**

"**Two," I responded.**

"**Three!" Yuki said with a shy smile, surprising us both and gaining the lead. **

**I sped up to overtake him, determined not to lose. I always beat Izzy, mostly because she really didn't care, and I was a fairly competitive person. **

**Yuki dove into the lake a mere split second before I did.**

"**Let's call that a tie," he said, looking a bit silly with his wet hair. **

"**Okay," I wheezed, much more out of breath than he was.**

"**Are you all right?" he asked, noticing my breathing trouble.**

"**Of course," I panted. "Just… not very… fit."**

**He smiled and looked like he might laugh, but seemed to be containing himself. A splash alerted us that Izzy had arrived.**

"**Who won?" She asked, resurfacing with a big grin. **

"**It was a tie," Yuki said.**

"**Stop splashing!" Kyo yelled from the shore, where he was sitting cross legged and watching Tohru splash around at the edge of the lake like a mother watched her children. "You're getting me wet!"**

"**That's your own fault for sitting so close," Shigure said, a bit further back on a lawn chair that had somehow materialized. Kyo glared at him, but Tohru falling over and creating a splash that soaked him distracted him.**

"**YOU—"" he began, catching himself. "Be more careful," he finished at normal voice tone. **

**Izzy, Yuki, and I all laughed softly. "Stupid cat," Yuki muttered. **

"**What's that?" Izzy asked slyly. **

"**Oh, nothing," Yuki said, putting on that charming smile of his. **

**Bored, I splashed Izzy and quickly dove underwater to avoid her retaliation. **

**As soon as I came up, Izzy splashed me, as I had expected. Laughing, I splashed her back. "Come on, you can splash better than that!" I said, diving again and swimming around Yuki to get behind her, splashing her from behind while she tried to figure out where I'd gone.**

"**Hey!" she said, splashing me back and laughing even harder. Yuki was just sort of watching us, so I splashed him lightly.**

"**Don't just stand there, Yuki-san!" I said, only just remembering to add the "san" to the end in my excitement. **

**He smiled, pleased to be included, and gave me a very gentle splash back…**

End note: Yay first adventure at the lake house! Review and tell me what you thought of it, and maybe Yuki will take his shirt off for you! XD


	11. Surprise, Surprise!

Note: Thanks so much for the awesome reviews, guys! I LOVE YOU ALL! I really hope you like the direction I point this story in next... YAY CHAPTER 11! Time for some plot twisty-type-things… I hope… Enjoy! Review?!

Disclaimer: I can't afford random Fruits Basket merchandise, so obviously, I didn't create it, or I'd be RICH!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway? **

**Chapter 11: Surprise, Surprise! **

**After swimming enough to be thoroughly exhausted, Izzy and I laid down on our towels to tan. Even being in anime-world didn't make us less determined to do girly things every once and a while. Shigure had long ago gotten bored and gone back to the house, as had Kyo. Tohru had gone a while later, saying she needed to make lunch. Yuki was still there with us and the three of us had a nice little conversation going on. **

"**I'd have to say my all time favorite food is chocolate," I said determinedly, finally knocking aside taquitos and Chinese food and selecting a winner. **

"**Does that even count as a food?" Yuki asked.**

"**Of course it does! It's a miracle food!" I declared. Izzy nodded her agreement. **

"**Yuki Yuki! Guess who's here, guess who's HERE!" a slightly annoying childish voice that could only belong to Momiji suddenly called out of nowhere. He hopped excitedly over to us, bringing Haru with him. "We heard you were at the lake house, and we decided to come along too! Isn't that great?!"**

**Haru sauntered over to Yuki and sat down next to him. **

"**Hello Haru, Momiji," Yuki said in a slightly exasperated way. **

"**Who are your friends?" Haru asked.**

"**Yeah, yeah! Who are they? They're CUTE!" Momiji said, hopping up and down. His animal really wasn't hard to guess, I figured. He was always hopping around.**

"**I'm Isabel," Izzy supplied, her teeth gritting a bit at giving the formal version of her name. "But call me Izzy."**

"**And I'm Melony," I said to the towel, always shy and reserved. **

"**I'm Momiji Sohma, and this is Hatsuharu Sohma!" Momiji said happily. "We're Yuki's cousins, right, right?!"**

**Haru sighed. "How have you been, Yuki?" he asked. **

"**I've been all right, Haru," he replied. **

"**Are you two related, huh huh, are you?!" Momiji asked us, hoping around and sitting between us. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen over and revealed the secret by now.**

"**Yes, we're sisters," Izzy said, her eyes trained on Haru. I remembered that she'd had a crush on him, too. He**_** did**_** look pretty cute. **

"**Are you two taking as good of care of Yuki as Tohru-san?" Haru asked suspiciously, looking us over. "Just because you're pretty doesn't mean you're good people for Yuki to be hanging around."**

**I blushed. "It's not really our job to take care of Yuki. He's taking care of us, more or less. But we're hoping not to be a burden," Izzy said, inching closer to Haru. "How old are you… two… anyway?"**

"**We're a grade below Yuki here!" Momiji supplied happily. We both pretended to be surprised that Momiji was that old.**

**Haru was looking between Yuki and I with a strange expression. "Mhm… yeah… I get it…" he said strangely. "Be a good friend to him," he said, cupping my face in his hands and bringing me to look him in the eye. "He deserves that."**

"**O-okay, of c-course," I said, my face on fire. He grinned. **

"**You're cute when you blush," he said, pecking me on the cheek. I blushed even more.**

"**Haru, leave her alone," Yuki sighed, looking at me apologetically. I panted as he released me, falling over backward. Izzy looked like she wanted to worm a kiss out of Haru, too, but didn't know how.**

**Momiji hopped over and kissed Izzy on the cheek, just like he had to Tohru, smiling. "I didn't want you to feel left out," he said.**

"**Er… thanks," Izzy said dryly. **

"**I want to share your room, Yuki," Haru said.**

"**Can I sleep in Tohru's room? Please?!" Momiji asked. **

"**No, Momiji," Yuki said.**

"**But Kyo's a meanie!"**

"**Momiji, we'll figure it out, okay?" **

**Momiji smiled. "Okay!"**

"**Are you ready to go back to the house, Melony-san and Isabel-san?" Yuki asked.**

"**Yep!" Izzy said, hopping up. I tried to follow suit, but tripped on my towel and fell over. I laughed at my clumsiness.**

"**Here," Yuki said, extending his hand with a little smile. I took it nervously and let him help me up. **

"**Thank you, Yuki-san," I said, brushing myself off and hurrying to catch up to Izzy, Haru, and Momiji, who had already started walking. Izzy was saying something to Haru, who smiled, and said something back.**

"**It would seem your sister is a bit of a flirt," Yuki said softly beside me.**

**I laughed. "That she is," I responded. "In a lot of ways… we're quite like opposites… and yet we're the same in so many others…"**

**Yuki nodded thoughtfully. "If Haru liked her," he mused, "He might leave me alone."**

**I gave him a questioning look, partly surprised that he was being so open, and partly keeping the sham I had no idea what he was talking about.**

**Yuki blushed and shook his head, "Sorry, I was thinking out loud."**

**I smiled, watching the strange trio before us walk up the hill, Izzy laughing, Momiji bouncing, and Haru smiling. Events certainly were getting more and more interesting.**

End note: Ugh… I really think I mucked Haru up… he's hard, because he's so SERIOUS, and then there's his black side. I tried to get a good go at his mysterious personality, but I just don't know… so sorry if he's a bit OOC. Review, and chapter 12 will come sooner!


	12. Nap Time?

Note: CHAPTER 12!!!! YAY!!!

Disclaimer: ….I don't… own… Fruits Basket… -sniffle-

**Whose Manga Is It, Anyway?**

**Chapter 12: Nap Time?**

**Shigure didn't act the least bit surprised to see Momiji and Haru, so I was pretty sure he had been the one to tell them we were staying at the lake house. **

**Izzy and Momiji, though their personalities were different, seemed to have quite an interesting conversation going on. They'd not stopped talking since they'd started, and were currently saying something about pears and peaches. **

"**It's been a while since I've seen this place," Haru said, looking around with interest. **

"**It's wonderful, isn't it?" Shigure said, looking as proud of himself as if he'd built it himself. **

"**I like it, I like it!" Momiji said hyperactively. **

**I sighed and sat down heavily, already tired from all of the excitement. I lay my head back on the couch and that was the last thing I could remember…**

**-Izzy's POV-**

**Talking to Momiji was pretty refreshing. He reminded me of my little brother, in a way. And I didn't have to worry about charming him—he was like a little boy! So innocent and sweet. A bit like Melony, only male and less perverted. **

**Speaking of Melony, the girl in question had nodded off on the couch, and was looking a bit cold.**

"**Yuki-san," I said, "Look at poor Melony. She should be in bed… and I'm entirely too weak to take her there myself…" I said in my best maidenly voice, trying to get a little favor for my "sister". **

**Yuki considered it, probably wondering if lifting her would make him transform. "Haru, would you help me?"**

**Haru nodded, and somehow, they managed to lift her slender form without either of them transforming, and took her into bed. **

"**Shh," I whispered to Momiji with a smile, and I followed light as a feather to watch. **

"**I haven't even seen you look at Tohru-kun that way," Haru said softly to Yuki, who was tucking Melony in, ever so softly.**

**I knew it! I took a moment to rejoice, quietly keeping my eyes on the scene before me. I just had to play matchmaker for Melony. I know I had promised, after what happened last time, to never do it again, but this was really special. This was Yuki Sohma! PRINCE Yuki Sohma! She could thank me later. **

**Knowing Melony, she wasn't truly sleeping at all, woken up by our voices and the jostling motion of Haru and Yuki carrying her. **

"**I don't know what you're talking about," Yuki said, placing a hand lightly on Melony's forehead. "She seems a little chilled rather than warm," he decided, sliding his hand off, brushing her bangs accidentally as he went, making the gesture seem more loving than intended. Melony's eyebrow twitched just slightly and her cheeks reddened. She was definitely awake, or at least halfway. **

"**Hmm," Haru said, "I'm sure you have no idea," he said. "If you don't **_**like **_**her, I dare you to kiss her on the forehead."**

**Yuki sighed. "That's childish."**

**Haru shrugged. "So be it, then," he said, turning just in time to miss Yuki's lips very softly brushing my best friend's forehead. The rat blushed and turned away quickly, a look of intense focus on his face. If I could read minds, this would be a moment I'd simply have to look inside someone's mind. That expression was just unreadable.**

"**So you don't, then?" Haru asked, smirking.**

"**Don't be silly, I just met her. Melony-san is a very nice girl, but we're just friends. Stop being so ridiculous."**

**And they left the room, so abruptly that I had to dodge behind a potted plant to avoid being seen.**

"**Where did Izzy-san go?" Haru asked, looking around.**

**Momiji grinned. "I don't know!" he declared proudly. **

"**I don't know that that's something to be proud of…" Yuki said, a bit of pink still clinging to his cheeks. I turned and rushed into Melony and I's room, hopping on the bed next to her.**

"**Don't you LOVE me?" I said, grinning.**

"**I told you, not again, not ever again," she snapped, rolling over temperamentally. "I am done with your matchmaking and done with boys," she declared.**

"**Then why did you do a love spell?" I asked in a singsong way.**

"**That's… different," she said, deflated. "Just let me sleep, I'm exhausted."**

**I knew the real reason she suddenly wanted to sleep. Neither of us would ever forget, though we might try very hard.**

"**Try to forget, okay?" I said.**

"**Whatever," she replied, turning over.**

"**Forgive me," Shigure said, shocking me as I stepped out of the room and shut the door. "I couldn't help but overhear. What is Melony-san trying to forget?"**

**I shook my head. "You were ease dropping and it's none of your business," I said, stomping off to the kitchen. "I'm hungry. Where's Toh—"**

"**Lunch is served!" Tohru said, right on cue, pointing me to the table with a grin. "I hope you like it! Where's Melony-san?"**

"**She's asleep," Haru said, eerily appearing from nowhere. He looked so delicious that I couldn't help but stare a little. **

"**Oh, her food will get cold," Tohru said, a little sadly.**

"**We can reheat it, Honda-san," Yuki said, sitting down and having a bite. "It's delicious, and I'm sure Melony-san won't mind."**

"**No, she won't," I said. "I don't think she's feeling well," I went on, cleverly trying to stir some concern in Yuki.**

**Last time I may have failed, but this time, I'd get it right for sure! **

**I took a bite of Tohru's lunch and carefully went to thinking of how to get Yuki and Melony together. Nothing better than food to feed thought! **

End note: Ha ha… yay for secrets! Guess away in the reviews! Hope you liked it! Review or… Momiji will… jump on your head!


	13. Chocolate Sundae

Note: Wowie! Chapter 13 already?! I know Chapter 12 seemed a bit pointless, but just you wait… it may become important after all! I hope you enjoy (and review) chapter Thirteen!

Additional Note: I've gone back through and edited out some content that I was unhappy with, taking the story in a slightly different direction. If this and the following chapters seem different from the original, that is why. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Oh, if only Fruits Basket were mine… but it's not, so no sense in brooding about it!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 13: Chocolate Sundae**

**I woke up still feeling flushed in the face from Yuki's soft kiss on my forehead. Sure, it had been to prove to Haru that he didn't have a crush on me, but I'd never been kissed before, so it had made me turn a bright red. Still, I shook it off—it didn't mean anything. I was NOT a Prince Yuki fan club girl, and I was NOT going to get a crush on him. And that was that. **

**Especially since Izzy thought I should… only because she wanted me fully out of the race for Kyo!**

**Shrugging, I hopped out of bed and followed my nose to the kitchen, where some neatly wrapped leftovers were waiting for me.**

"**So," Haru's voice suddenly said, causing me to jump. "Were you really asleep back there?" **

**He certainly was intuitive. "Er… of course," I said nervously, busying myself with scooping the food onto a plate and taking it to the microwave.**

"**So sleeping people always blush when they get a kiss on the forehead?" he said slyly.**

**I raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I said as calmly as I could. He was scarier than I remembered him being in the manga. He must be feeling really depressed and angry lately.**

**He sighed and leaned against the counter. "Just don't hurt him, okay? He's been through enough already."**

**I gave up trying to act like I had no clue what was going on. "Yuki Sohma-san doesn't have a crush on me, Hatsuharu-san, so you don't have anything to worry about," I said very softly to my plate of food. **

"**If you say so," he said, turning to go. "And by the way, your sister is very cute."**

**I blinked, not sure why he'd given me that piece of information. But Izzy would be overjoyed to hear! I wonder if he'd wanted me to tell her…**

"**Haru thinks you're cute," I whispered when I saw Izzy next. She smiled and winked.**

"**Finally someone appreciates my beauty," she said with a grin. I knew she was flattered, just brushing it off. She didn't even blush, unlike me if such a compliment ever came my way. **

"**Maybe you should go after him instead of Kyo," I said, flopping down on the couch next to her. We were the only two in the room, as it was getting late. I hugged a pillow to my chest, exhausted from the long day, and trying to once again push unpleasant memories away from the surface. **

**Izzy drummed her fingers on her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I will," she said in a sly tone. "But you should go after Yuki."**

**I sighed at her. "I am not going to be one of his fan club girls, chasing him around when all he wants is for them to leave him alone."**

**Izzy shook her head. "He quite obviously doesn't want YOU to leave him alone, Melony. You should know by now that look in his eyes—haven't you seen it in your own often enough?"**

"**Shut up," I said forcefully, frowning. "You know very well this is not the same as those times. Not even close. He doesn't have a little school boy crush on me!"**

"**Whatever you say, Melony… but isn't it time you stop feeling foolish for all of those little crushes… and let yourself be happy? She asked, standing up. "I saw some chocolate in the kitchen, and I'm bringing it in here right now."**

"**Chocotherapy?" I said weakly. **

"**Chocotherapy," she responded, vanishing to the kitchen.**

"_**Yeah, right, like I'd ever date **_**you**_**…"**_

**I shook the voice of my memories away, looking towards the other rooms in the house, full of sleeping Sohmas and one Tohru Honda. We didn't belong here, and yet somehow, we were here. Maybe Izzy was right and it did mean something important. **

"**They've got ice cream and chocolate syrup!" Izzy called. She didn't have to tell me twice—I got up and ran into the kitchen. **

**Three scoops of ice cream plopped into each of our bowls, and chocolate syrup was poured over it. We each topped it off with some whipped cream and went to sit back on the couch. I had a feeling that Izzy wanted to talk… I just wasn't sure what it was she wanted to talk about.**

"**I've been doing a lot of research," she said through a mouthful of ice cream. "And I think I figured out how we got here."**

**I blinked at her. "How, then?"**

"**In a spell you have to focus on your intent, right?"**

**I nodded, having done a fair amount of research myself.**

"**Well, what if we were focused more on Furuba than on finding love? Or what if we were dreaming in our subconscious of finding love IN Fruits Basket?"**

**My jaw dropped. "Of COURSE! Then with the addition of our Fruits Basket stuff, the intention of the spell could have changed!"**

**Izzy smiled. "Exactly."**

"**But would that mean that we've got the Sohmas under a love spell?"**

"**That's the bit I haven't worked out. But I don't think so. If we did, wouldn't Kyo be chasing both of us around like a lovesick puppy… well, kitten?"**

"**Hmm…"**

**We were both silent a moment, thinking.**

"**I can't believe we managed to do this," I said finally. "I didn't think we were that powerful."  
**

**Izzy shrugged. "Obsession's a powerful thing, isn't it?"**

**I smiled. "I guess so."**

**We polished off our ice cream and headed off to bed, our minds fuller than our stomachs. **

End note: Ack, it's short! But I hope you enjoyed it! I know there wasn't much of our boys in it, but I'm setting up for something here… review!


	14. Omelets

Note: I had a spot of writer's block for a little while, but I think I'm back on track now! I hope you like chapter 14, and that you review!

Disclaimer: Wonderful though it would be, I don't own Fruits Basket.

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 14:**

**The next morning I woke full of energy, probably due to my nap the day before. I skipped into the kitchen and once again beat Tohru to making breakfast, this time whipping up some omelets. Izzy showed up in the kitchen as I was finishing up and smiled.**

"**I taught you that," she said as I flipped the last omelet onto a plate.**

"**Yep!" I said, picking up a few plates and taking them to the table. Izzy followed suit, and we smiled at the table, set full of food.**

"**Should we wake them up or just go ahead and eat?"**

"**Something smells delicious," Yuki's voice said suddenly from behind us. I jumped a little and gave a nervous laugh.**

"**It's Melony's cooking again," Izzy declared proudly, sitting down.**

"**Oh no!" Tohru said. "You beat me to it again! I hate for you to be inconvenienced that way."**

"**It's fine," I said softly. "I love to cook."**

"**But it's my job! It's part of my deal with the Sohmas!"**

**I sighed gently. "You… can make lunch, okay?"**

"**Okay," she said, sitting down. "This looks wonderful!"**

**I smiled lightly. "Thank you."**

**The four of us sat down, joined quite abruptly by Momiji.**

"**That's smells so good! Did you make it Tohru, did you?!"**

"**No, Melony-san did," Tohru told him with a smile. "It's really delicious!"**

**Momiji bounced into his seat and took a bite. "It's yummy, Melony!"**

**I smiled, not sure how to react to his hyperness.**

"**Who's making so much noise?" a grumpy voice sounded, alerting us that Kyo was up. Everyone in this house seemed to wake up at the same time. It was kind of creepy. **

"**Momiji," Izzy declared.**

"**Stupid kid," Kyo mumbled, sitting down. "There aren't leeks in this, are there?" he asked suspiciously poking the omelet.**

"**Nope!" Izzy said, taking a huge bite. **

**Momiji was bouncing around and talking to Tohru about something or another, and Yuki was completely silent. It was certainly an interesting breakfast. **

"**Is… uhm… something wrong… Yuki-san?" I asked hesitantly, fairly sure that this wasn't just a case of being grumpy in the morning. **

"**Not at all, Melony-san," he replied, eating the last of his omelet. "I'm just tired."**

"**Okay," I said. "But uhm… if something is bothering you… you can always talk to me about it," I said, knowing I sounded like a bad echo of Tohru, but not caring. It was something I said to most everyone, and she wasn't stopping me by having said it first. Yuki smiled that smile that seemed so rare, and only available for Tohru. I felt a slight brush come into my cheeks and willed it away. **

"**Thank you," he said, standing up. "I think I'll take a walk."**

**After he left the room, I became aware that Izzy and Kyo had gotten into something of an argument. **

"**I see green stuff in there!" Kyo said.**

"**It's lettuce! I told you—no leeks! Are you calling me a liar?"**

"**Yeah I am! You're tryin' to kill me!"**

**I hadn't seen Izzy this irritated in a while. Not since… well… I didn't want to think about that. **

"**Um… please stop fighting!" Tohru said uselessly.**

"**Want some candy?" Momiji asked, per usual completely oblivious.**

"**If you don't at least try it, I'll shove it down your throat!" Izzy threatened.**

"**OH yeah? I'd like to see you try!"**

**Izzy twirled her chopsticks menacingly and picked up his omelet in one fatal swipe. I sighed, stood up, and started gathering the dishes while Tohru wasn't paying attention to them, ignoring the fight. Sometimes I wondered how Izzy's brain worked—how was fighting with Kyo supposed to win him over?**

**I walked right into a solid mass upon entering the kitchen, not paying attention to where I was going. **

"**Not paying attention to where you're going?" Haru asked. I was relieved that the plates had stopped us from having the kind of collision that might count as a hug. Having him turn into a cow and me "discovering the secret" was the last thing I needed just then. **

"**N-not exactly, sorry," I said, walking over to the sink and placing the plates in it. **

"**Daydreaming about Yuki?"**

**I blushed. "Of course not!" **

**He laughed. "That's the loudest I've ever heard you talk, Mysterious Melony-san," he teased, turning to walk out the door. "Is Kyo arguing with your sister?"**

**I nodded. "He wouldn't try the omelets," I muttered. **

"**I'll put a stop to that," he said.**

**I sighed. What was it with everyone in this show and getting in fights? It was worse than school! I completely understood why Yuki felt the need to escape with a noise level like this. **

**I quickly changed into my clothes for the day and did my hair in pigtails before grabbing a notebook I'd recently purchased and starting journaling in (this'd make a great story later, if only a fanfiction), and heading out to the lake. Normally I was afraid of traveling on my own, but since I was already inside an anime/manga, nothing weirder could possibly happen to me. **

End note: Ta-dah! Hope you enjoyed chapter 14—review!


	15. Beside The Lake

Note: Thanks so much for all of the very encouraging reviews thus far. I really appreciate it, and it inspires me to keep writing even when I don't entirely feel like it. Here's Chapter 15! Yay! Review, pwease?

Disclaimer: Diet Pepsi tastes… wait… wrong commercial… I don't own Furuba (or Diet Pepsi).

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 15: Beside The Lake**

**I found a nice, smooth rock that was big enough for my butt to fit comfortably on, and sat down. From there, I had a nice view of the lake, which I hoped would inspire my words to be, you know, magical. Or at least better than most people's. Let's face it, I'm very competitive about my writing. It's why I'd avoided testing out any of Shigure's. Well, one of the reasons, anyway. **

**Speaking of that writer, he'd been making himself scarce lately. I wondered what his issue was, besides the fact that he was weird. Shrugging, I put my pen to the paper and began to write down the events of the day. **

"**Mind if I join you, Melony-san?" a soft voice suddenly asked from just behind me, causing me to fall off my rock and nearly right into the lake. A very hesitant laughter greeted me as I stood up shakily. "I'm sorry," Yuki said. "It's just… you looked so funny."**

**  
I laughed. "You should get used… to that," I said, picking up my things, glad my notebook hadn't taken an unexpected bath. "I'm… a bit of a klutz."**

**Yuki smiled. "Not that badly."**

**I sighed. "Don't lie," I teased, sitting back down on my rock and letting him have the next word.**

"**What are you doing out here?" he asked politely, sitting down next to the rock. **

"**I was… well… journaling," I said, cheeks turning a rosy red. Something about stupid "Prince" Yuki made me blurt things out. **

"**You keep a journal?" he said, seeming surprised.**

"**Yes…" I said, holding it to me somewhat protectively.**

"**I'm sorry, you just… don't seem like the type, when I first thought about it. But I guess you are," he said, a bit of nervousness creeping into his voice.**

"**Am I?" I responded, looking at the cover wistfully. Normally, I couldn't keep a journal. But I was in FRUITS BASKET, for goodness sake! Of COURSE I could keep one NOW!**

**Yuki nodded thoughtfully. "You're quiet and keep things to yourself, I think," he said softly.**

**I smiled. "Pretty much," I said, suddenly wanting to dunk my feet in the lake. I pulled my shoes off and headed that way, calling back a, "Care to join me?" to Yuki, who looked surprised again, and then removed his shoes and socks in a careful fashion before walking over to sit next to me, looking as if he felt very out of place. **

**The lake water was cool and pleasant against my ankles, and without even a thought, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, enjoying the rays of the sun. Once I realized what I'd done, I blushed and opened them, looking at Yuki nervously.**

"**I'm… sorry… I just… it's just…" I stopped talking. Yuki had a very strange look on his face, one I couldn't quite place.**

"**Don't be sorry for being yourself," he said at last, and I realized he might not be used to people being quite so open and natural around him—"Prince" Yuki Sohma.**

**I looked down at the ripples on the water, letting my mind drift. I noticed that Yuki had a thoughtful expression on his face and wondered what it was that a character from an anime thought about. But now, he seemed so real, I'd come to think of him more as a person than a character. I mean, he was right there, so tangible. I could touch him if I wanted to, proving that he took up space. **

**I felt my fingers collide with others and cursed my stupid drifting mind. I'd actually slid my hand over to prove that he was real! Yuki's hand tensed and seemed frozen. I snapped my hand back. "Started to fall over there," I said blushing and giggling nervously.**

**He smiled just as nervously. "That's all right," he said, which only made a vague amount of sense. I nervously stared down at the water. **

"**Yuki…san," I said suddenly, a thought that refused to be shut off entering my mind.**

"**Hmm?"**

"**Do you ever feel like… you're just on the outside… looking in?" I asked quietly, staring at my reflection on the still water of the lake.**

"**What do you mean?" Yuki asked, looking curious. **

"**Well… it's like the whole world… is going on around you… looking through you… even when they pretend to see you…" I said, feeling very stupid and childish spewing my feelings to Yuki Sohma here in the middle of Fruits Basket. But it couldn't be helped, and better him than Shigure or Kyo. If anyone would understand, Yuki would.**

"**I used to feel that way all the time," Yuki said quite abruptly. "But I think no one's as invisible as they think they are," he said with a smile.**

"**I am," I said, clapping a hand over my mouth after the word escaped and nearly falling into the lake before narrowly catching myself. **

"**You're not invisible at all, Melony-san," Yuki said, taking a strand of my hair and holding it before my eyes. "You're right here, sitting beside me now."**

**I blushed. He could really be enchanting when he wanted to. It was almost unnerving. "Or maybe you're just imagining me," I said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, feeling foolish for bothering an anime character with my problems. Especially Yuki Sohma—he would never be able to understand me any better than anyone else.**

**He laughed. "Maybe I am," he said softly, standing up and extending a hand down to me, making me blush even deeper. "Lunch is probably almost ready. Would you like to go back now, Melony-san?"**

**I smiled and stood up, taking the offered hand despite the fact that it would make Izzy all too happy if she saw. "I am getting a bit hungry," I said, wondering if now I should let go of his hand now.**

**Hesitantly, the two of us walked back to the summer house, our hands intertwined awkwardly, as though neither of us knew whether to let go or to hold on.**

**Perhaps something was starting between us. Or perhaps it was nothing at all.**

End note: I do hope you like this chapter of Melony and Yuki's private moment alone. Sorry the chapters are getting to be so short… I'm having a stunt in creativity. But I love you all and will keep writing!


	16. Loudness

Note: Ugh I'm sunburned from working in a car wash, but I'm still trying to get chapter 16 up for all of you! Thanks for your reviews—I just LOVE getting them! Once again my chapter title abilities suck, but just enjoy and review, 'kay?

Disclaimer: Although I now own a CAR, I still don't own Fruits Basket.

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 16: Loudness**

**--Izzy's POV—**

**After Melony left the room, Haru came in and somehow diffused my argument with Kyo. I'm pretty sure he forced an omelet down Kyo's throat, but I wasn't really paying attention. The reason for my lack of attention was of course that there were two amazingly cute guys in the same room and I was the only girl there, now that Tohru had run off to clean dishes. What sort of exciting things could happen now?!**

"**So, your sister and Yuki are both on a walk?" Haru said in a sort of mystical tone. "That's very interesting."**

**I shrugged. "Fate will have what it will," I said as mysteriously as I could. But fate really had nothing to do with it—I'd get those two together if it killed me. **

**Haru raised an eyebrow at me. "You're very strange," he declared.**

**I blinked at him. "I'm strange?" I said, giving him an appraising look, to which he smiled a little bit.**

"**I'd like to learn more about you and this Melony-san," he said slowly. "You're very interesting people."**

**I frowned a bit at being lumped with Melony. She may be my best friend, but some independence from her now and again wouldn't hurt. "I like to think we're boring enough to avoid the wrong sort of interest," I said carefully, letting my eyes slide over to his to see if he'd meet my gaze or back down. He met it firmly and calmly. If I had been Melony, my cheeks would be on fire, but luckily I don't blush the way she does. **

"**Where do you come from?" he asked suddenly, making me jump.**

"**Orphanage," I lied smoothly. "It didn't even have a name, it was so terrible."**

**He raised an eyebrow again, and I wondered if he believed me or not. If he didn't, he was wise. "I see…" he said.**

**I couldn't stand that appraising look anymore, so I stood and rather quickly left the room, muttering something about getting dressed for the day or some nonsense. Really I just wanted to throw myself on the bed and think of ways to make Kyo fall in love with me and make Yuki and Melony realize that they WERE in love. Or would be, once I was through with them. **

**I happened to glance out the window at a perfect moment and noticed Melony and Yuki on their way back—they were HOLDING HANDS! **

**It looked so strange and yet somehow perfectly right, and a smiled a sly little smile. Maybe the lovebirds didn't need my help after all. **

**-Melony's POV-**

**The moment we came into view, as if mutually decided without words, our hands fell back to our sides, as if they had never been hesitantly touching in that awkward but heart racing manner. **

**The house felt good—so cool compared to the air out there. It helped my blazing cheeks to relax. Yuki disappeared off to the kitchen and I sat down, pondering my next move. Should I tell Izzy or not? She'd be thrilled, but that might not be a good thing. I loved her as dearly as if she were my sister, but she couldn't seem to keep her hands out of my relationships—not that this was one of those, and not that I planned it to be so. But one never knows. I nibbled on my lip and stared at the ground.**

"**What're you looking so frustrated for?" an irritated voice suddenly cut in, disrupting my thought process.**

"**I'm just thinking," I replied distantly, not looking up at Kyo.**

"**Is the expression on her face bothering you or something?" Izzy asked, also apparently coming from nowhere to disrupt my private session. **

"**What the hell is your problem? No one asked you to come in here!"**

**Izzy sighed and smacked Kyo on the side of his head. "No one asked me, but I'm a free spirit—I do what I want."**

**Izzy and Kyo began loudly bickering yet again, and I sighed. When Kyo was present, there was simply no thinking to be done, only trying to avoid being smacked with whatever started flying around. **

"**Will you two shut up?" I muttered, not expecting to be heard over the yelling.**

"**WHAT WAS THAT?!" Kyo shouted, turning his red eyes to me.**

"**I er… it's just… you're being so… loud," I said pitifully. **

"**You got a problem with—"**

**He was cut off by Yuki sliding into the room and knocking him over. "Your loud voice is giving me a headache."**

"**Your knight in shining armor has arrived," Izzy whispered, slipping onto the couch next to me. I blushed and looked at the floor. **

"**He's hardly my knight in shining armor," I said gently and softly, giggling as Kyo got up and stormed out of the room.**

"**Was he bothering you, Melony-san?" Yuki asked, smiling at me. **

"**Not at all," I lied, blushing deeply. We'd just held hands, and yet I couldn't help acting as if we'd just started dating or some other nonsense. It was just like last time, and I didn't like it one bit. "I'm going to my room now if you don't mind—I don't feel well," I said, yet another lie, and rushed off to my bedroom.**

"**What happened between you two?" I heard Izzy ask in a shocked tone before I shut the door on the world.**

End note: I know, I know! It's SHORT! But I'm doing the best I can to get chapters to you while I get busier and busier! Review, please!


	17. My Darling Prince?

Note: I cranked this one out pretty fast for you guys, so I hope you enjoy!

Dislclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, no matter how hard I try… -sob-

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 17: My Darling Prince?**

**-Izzy's POV-**

**Yuki stared after Melony with a baffled and, if my eyes didn't deceive me, slightly hurt look on his face. **

"**What happened between you two?" I asked discreetly, motioning for him to sit down and tell me about it.**

**The Prince blushed a little and shrugged. "I… don't know," he said in a confused tone.**

**I nibbled the inside of my mouth and sighed. "Don't take it personally, Yuki-san," I said finally, deciding that the truth would do us all a favor in this case. "Melony's never exactly… had a boyfriend before. If you're going to pursue her, you're going to have to be gentle and patient."**

"**Pursue?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.**

"**Oh, come on, I can tell you like her," I said. **

**He blushed and stood there looking lost, like he had no clue what to do. Finally, like I'd hoped he would, he walked slowly down the hallway and knocked on Melony's door, presumably to make sure she was all right.**

**I smiled. I'm such a talented matchmaker! **

**I skipped off to the kitchen to see if lunch was ready yet, pleased with myself.**

**-Melony's POV-**

**I was patiently freaking out to myself and being determined not to like Yuki when I heard a knock at the door. I rushed to make myself somewhat presentable and went to open it, assuming it was Izzy. When I saw Yuki standing there, I nearly shut the door again, but I realized I was being silly. Yuki was an anime character—it was ridiculous to be mad at him for making me feel this way. "Yes?"**

"**I just… wondered if you were all right," he said awkwardly. "You seemed like something was bothering you."**

**I sighed, wondering what Izzy had told him. "What… did Izzy… tell you?" I asked, hesitantly speaking my mind for once.**

**He blinked at me and then smiled softly. "Izzy-san didn't say a thing, Melony-san," he said, putting a hand hesitantly on my shoulder. "You just looked upset."**

**Once again, I was blown away. Sometimes he could be so numbingly handsome that my mind went entirely blank, and I hated it. I felt my cheeks heat up and resisted a sudden, spontaneous urge to hug him. Instead I smiled back. "It's nothing to worry about," I said. "I'm fine."**

**Still smiling, he took his hand back. "If you need anyone to talk to…" he said, leaving the rest hanging in the air as he walked mysteriously towards the kitchen. **

**I blinked after him. What had just happened? Yuki Sohma had offered to hear me out? I allowed my mind to register the shock, and gently shut the door and threw myself on the bed.**

**I was in the middle of FRUTS BASKET—this was no time to mope. I hopped back up quite suddenly and went into the kitchen, where everyone, now including Shigure, was seated and ready for lunch. I blushed and sat down, noticing that my place had already been set between Yuki and Izzy. **

"**I'm going to kill you for whatever you said," I muttered in my best friend's ear with a pleasant smile plastered on my face. **

"**Said?" she replied, smiling just as broadly and taking a large bite of her food. "Whatever could you mean?"**

**We burst into our simultaneous giggling once more, everything back as it should be for the time being. The food was, as usual, delicious. Stupid, perfect Tohru. There was simply no competing with her. **

"**Let's go SWIMMING!" Izzy declared suddenly as soon as the last bite of my food was in my mouth. I chewed carefully, remembering not to open my mouth with it full like I so often did when I got excited about things and wanted to speak my mind.**

"**Okay!" I agreed, hopping up and running with her to our room to get changed. The two of us loved to swim, and this was just the greatest opportunity ever to get away from the others and have our own private moment. **

"**What had you so upset, anyway?" Izzy asked as she pulled on her swimsuit. **

**I shook my head. "It's nothing, just…I'm not sure what I want my first love to be," I said softly.**

"**Melony," Izzy said sternly, taking my hand away for me. "You need to stop wanting your first boyfriend to be so perfect and just let things HAPPEN!" **

**I sighed and walked over to the mirror to put my hair up. "It's strange, isn't it?" I said, tilting my head to the side. "I still look the same as always… but somehow now a boy actually IS interested in me."**

**Izzy came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. "You ARE the same," she confirmed firmly, "Just now you're letting yourself loosen up and not getting so obsessed. That's why he likes you."**

**I laughed. "Careful there, Izzy—you're sounding like you know what you're saying!"**

**We laughed together again and fished out our towels. **

**Barefoot, we walked lightly down to the lake, silent and companionable as we walked. Finally, Izzy broke the silence.**

"**Do you ever wonder if it's just a dream we're having here?" she asked, flailing her arms out dramatically to illustrate the splendor around us. **

**I shrugged. "If it were a dream," I said slowly, "would I be able to do this?" I pinched her hard on the butt and ran away squealing as she chased after me, brandishing her towel like a deadly weapon. **

"**Ah!!" I screamed, jumping into the lake ahead of her so she had to leave her towel on the bank before continuing pursuit. **

**She splashed me hard in the face, both of us laughing. **

"**No fair!" I said, rubbing my eyes. "I didn't get you in the face!"**

"**But you VIOLATED me!" she teased, acting as if she was about to faint. **

"**Well well, we leave you alone for a few minutes, and already you're FLIRTING," Shigure's stern voice said suddenly from the bank.**

"**You followed us?!" Izzy said, scandalized. **

**Shigure sighed. "So quick to cast the blame… isn't a man allowed to get some fresh air without be accused of following somebody?"**

**Izzy narrowed her eyes and looked strict. "A man is, yes. But you, no," she said, crossing her arms as firmly as someone can while they are in the water.**

**I swam back and forth, ignoring their conversation because I frankly didn't care.**

"**Isn't that right, Melony?" Izzy said suddenly, and I snapped my attention back to her. **

"**Er… uhm… yes," I said finally.**

**Shigure pretended to be hurt. "I see I'm not wanted," he said, and sulked off towards the house.**

"**I said he just wanted to watch us in our bathing suits, and you agreed," Izzy clarified. **

**I shook my head as he walked off. "He's a strange one, that Shigure," I said, doing a quick underwater flip. **

"**That he is," Izzy said, still looking after him with a strange expression on her face. **

"**So… is it Haru or Kyo for you now?" I asked, curious as to her motives.**

"**Kyo still, of course," she said, making a mockingly determined expression. "I won't give up!"**

**I smiled. "I'm sure he'd admire your devotion… if he wasn't so busy hating you with all of his cold heart," I said, earning myself a smack on the shoulder. **

"**At least he's not chasing after me like your Prince," she said. "That makes it no fun at all."**

**I sighed at her. "Yuki is NOT my Prince and he DOESN'T like me and I DON'T like him," said very firmly, determined not to give her any ideas.**

**She just gave me that sly smile of hers and went underwater, swimming away. I sighed at her and followed suit, ready to enjoy the rest of my day/**

End note: Things are going to come to a peak-ish thing and get more eventful soon, I promise. They've been at the summer home for chapter upon chapter it seems… we're verging on a BIG event! So review?


	18. This Kiss This Kiss

Note: I know it's taking long between chapters now and I'm very sorry—I'm doing the best I can with being so dang busy! I love all of you and hope you stick with me! Those of you who are asking for pairings… mwahaha it's still in the "you guess and see what happens" stage.

Disclaimer: I own a busy schedule, not Fruits Basket!

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 18:**

**The next day, Shigure informed us that we would be returning home the following evening, because school was starting soon. I hadn't even given school a thought since we'd left. Japan (or anime world, or whatever) started so much sooner than we did. We still had a month back home. **

"**What are we going to do for school?" I asked Izzy in a hushed whisper while we packed. "We can't enroll in school here! We don't exist!"**

**She drummed her fingers on her chin thoughtfully. "We'll think of something," she said decisively. "As long as we pass the entrance exams, I think I can lie our way through the rest."**

**I gaped at her. "We SHOULD be trying to get home," I said matter of factly, though I was in no rush to go. **

"**Should be," she said, smiling knowingly at me. Both of us knew that returning home to school and being outcasts wasn't appealing while we could be here, with Kyo and Yuki and the rest of the fascinating Sohmas.**

**I sighed. "We don't belong here, Izzy," I said. **

"**We can if we try," she said, determined. "Yuki's half in love with you already as it is."**

**I shook my head. "He isn't!"**

"**Prove it," Izzy said. **

**I fumbled for words that could effectively prove such a thing to my stubborn best friend, but none came. "He's… PRINCE Yuki Sohma, and I'm MELONY. Isn't thatp proof enough?"**

**Izzy folded a shirt and turned to face me. "Melony," she said sternly. "You cannot keep hiding from the truth—you are a wonderful, beautiful person and men everywhere are bound to love you almost as much as they love ME!"**

**I laughed and smacked her lightly with the skirt I was packing. "Almost," I repeated, eyebrows raised. She just shrugged her shoulders and placed her last item in the bag.**

**Izzy, through with most of her packing, hopped off to who knows where, and I stayed where I sat, staring at my half folded clothes, feeling stranger and more out of place than I ever had since we'd come here.**

**-Izzy's POV-**

**I had done it! I'd planted the seed! Having talked to both Yuki and Melony about liking one another, there was just no way they couldn't get together, and soon! It was so perfect that I felt at ease to start on getting Kyo for myself.**

**Lucky for me, he was already in the kitchen.**

"**What's up?" I asked casually, plopping down next to him and doing my best to look gorgeous. **

"**What do you want?" he snapped, as I'd expected.**

**I pouted in my cutest way and pretended to be upset. "I just asked what you were doing," I sniffled. "You don't have to be so mean." **

**I was trying on the innocent sad victimized girl routine to see if that worked better with Kyo than strong and independent, my foremost nature, had. He looked at me like I was crazy.**

"**You are really weird, you know that?" he said haughtily, getting up and leaving. I sighed. Another try gone down the drain.**

"**What does a girl have to do to get noticed around here?" I whimpered, sliding down to the floor. **

"**You should try not being so clingy," Haru's knowing voice suddenly said from above. I jumped up.**

"**Were you easedropping on us?" I asked sternly. **

"**So what if I was?" Haru said smugly, leaning towards me with a smile. "A word of advice—Kyo's pretty caught up on Tohru, so it's probably a good idea for you to go after someone else, or you're just going to end up getting yourself hurt. Tohru's a good girl, so don't try to steal him away from her."**

**I blinked at him. "I wasn't trying to steal anything," I said defensively. **

"**Of course not," Haru said, smiling mischievously. "Just keep what I said in mind," he warned, suddenly giving me a quick kiss full on the lips. "Maybe someone else is interested in you."**

**He disappeared, leaving me speechless for one of the first times in my life.**

**What had just happened?**

**  
And why had it made my heart beat so fast?**

End note: Yes it's short but sweet. Don't worry, I'll get right to work on chapter 19. Just you review!


	19. In Love? Well, only a little!

Note: Dun dun dun… what's to happen on their last night at the summer house? Read and review for meh! We start back into Melony's POV in the beginning of the chapter, in case you get confused. (Just got back from band camp, so sorry if it's been entirely too much a wait… I'm rather tired…)

Disclaimer: Even if I close my eyes and make a wish, I can't manage to own Fruits Basket. That sucks.

**Whose Manga is it, Anyway?**

**Chapter 19: A Tainted Memory**

**After I finally finished packing up my things in anticipation for leaving the next day, I decided that I was in the mood to take a walk. I was feeling thoughtful, which I seemed to do a lot lately.**

**Somehow the giddiness of being in Furuba had been replaced with a sort of nervousness and panic. Even though I didn't want to leave, I didn't think we could just start to live here. We couldn't stay forever, after all. We didn't belong. I sighed and stepped out into the cooled air of evening. **

**The stars were just starting to poke through the blanket of the night and twinkled down at me, seeming to tell me that it was all right—that the world was still the same as always, no matter what happened.**

**But for all I knew an artist was drawing those very stars as I walked. I wasn't even sure how this anime dimension worked, really. **

**I sighed at my own habit of ruining the moment, and found a trail to follow, realizing suddenly that I had forgotten to put on shoes. The ground felt cool and comforting under my bare feet, so solid and firm that it couldn't possibly be just an artist's rendering.**

**The lake looked very pretty under the new stars, and I stopped to stare at it, a smile on my face. I sat down on the ground and put my arms around myself and let my mind drift off into daydreams, like so many other times.**

**A twig snapped in the distance and I quickly looked about, suddenly terrified at the idea of being alone in the woods.**

"**Melony-san?" Yuki's gentle voice said, sounding a bit scared itself. **

"**Hey, Yuki-san," I said in my best chipper, everything's perfectly normal voice. My heart had started fluttering away again and I wasn't sure what I should do now. Did I really want my first love to be with a guy who wasn't even real? **

**Oblivious to what was going on in my brain, Yuki sat down beside and stared at the water, too. For a few minutes, everything was quiet, but I started to feel a little bit unsettled again.**

"**So… back to school, huh?" I said in a lame attempt to start a conversation. **

**He nodded and looked thoughtful, and I blushed and looked away, feeling a bit foolish.**

"**Melony-san?" He repeated hesitantly after a moment. **

"**Hmm?" I responded, staring intently at the ground. Stupid Izzy! With all her insistence that Yuki liked me, I was starting to get all tongue-tied around him! **

"**When we get home, would you like to see my 'secret base'?" **

**I smiled. "Secret base?" I asked after a second, remembering that I had a charade to maintain.**

"**It's nothing special, just a little vegetable garden, but you said you liked gardening, so I thought…"**

**I nodded, and looked down at my feet. "I would like that," I said with a smile, feeling my cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. How did we keep ending up alone together, and why did it make me feel so weird?**

**Yuki gave me a heartbreakingly gorgeous smile, and suddenly it just didn't matter. I slid my hand over towards his, on purpose this time, and we sat there for a while and just watched the stars.**

**-Meanwhile, Izzy's POV-**

**Haru kissed me. He KISSED me. What was I supposed to do now?! I liked Kyo. Didn't I? Why was my heart still pounding, then, and why did that moment keep playing over and over in my mind like a stupid broken record?**

**I was back in our room silently freaking out and staring out the window, waiting for Melony to come back so that I could talk to her. To keep myself busy, I was attempting to read through the spell book. Maybe somehow we'd cast love spells on the wrong Furuba boys, and that's why Haru was being so weird! **

**Haru. Oh no. Now I've thought about him kissing me again. I really mustn't do that. Ugh, Melony, get back RIGHT NOW! I don't care if you and Yuki are having a heated make-out session at this very moment, this is entirely more important! Well, okay, maybe not… but at any rate, I'm sure that's not happening. **

**I looked out the window for about the three hundredth time when, FINALLY, I saw Melony and Yuki making their way back down the path. This time, instead of hesitantly holding hands, Melony was talking animatedly about something and Yuki was smiling (really smilng, not that little fake one he has) and even laughing a bit. I would simply HAVE to quiz her about what they were talking about. After, you know, we talked about Haru.**

**Oooh, that kiss. Why can't I stop THINKING about it? I love KYO! KYO I SAY! **

"**MELONY!" I screamed the moment the door opened, launching myself at her. "Oh… hi Yuki," I added as an afterthought when I realized he was standing there as well. **

"**Hi?" he said, giving Melony a look that clearly said "What is wrong with her?" **

**  
Wait, when had they reached the point of silent, multi-worded communication? I thought that was Melony and I's specialty! **

**Oh, she's giving me that look that means I should stop acting insane and let her say goodbye to the cute boy. That's one we haven't had to use in a while. I quickly skipped away and let her do what she had to—which was, apparently, finish up a sentence and say a very red-faced good night before shutting the door.**

"**What happened?!" she asked, clearly clued in by my attack. I mean, we were good friends, but I didn't exactly scream her name every single time she opened a door. **

**I looked around to make sure the coast was clear, pulled her onto our bed, and whispered, "Haru kissed me!"**

**Her mouth fell open. "Haru? As in Hatsuharu?"**

**I rolled my eyes. "No, Melony, the OTHER Haru in Fruits Basket—yes him!"**

"**On the lips?" **

"**YES!"**

**She smiled. "Told you he was a good match for you," she declared, sounding a lot like, well, me. "What was it like?"**

**I pondered for a minute. "Amazing!"**

"**And Kyo…?"**

**I smacked my forehead. I'd forgotten about him. "Well, I suppose Tohru can have him… provided that Haru continues to be such an amazing kisser!"**

"**Izzy!" Melony scolded, giggling. **

"**What, like its not important? Have you kissed Prince Charming yet?" I countered. As I had expected, she turned the color of a fresh-picked cherry. Or strawberry, if we want to be more Fruits Basket-oriented. **

"**NO!" **

**We collapsed into our usual fit of giggles, and stayed there talking until Shigure announced that it was time to head home.**

"**First one on the bus can sit by me!" he declared.**

"**I'll make sure to be last, then!" I called jokingly, my heart falling a little bit when I remembered Haru wouldn't be taking the bus with us… Oh, gosh. I think I'm in love. But just a little bit. **

End note: Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Chapter 19!!! I hope you enjoyed it, and didn't mind the little (okay, slightly huge) changes I made… I know a lot of you liked the storyline the way it was but I decided it just wasn't a place I wanted to go with !


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